The Green Eyed Monster
by a.college.kid
Summary: Jealousy isn't pretty, but Quinn Fabray sure is! A story about mini!quinntana and Quinn's struggle with jealousy and getting the girl. Quinntana. Quinn/Santana.
1. Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray had been consumed by the green-eyed monster. But if you asked her when it happened, she would tell you that it didn't and that you were crazy for even insinuating such a thing. That, however, would be a lie... a very big lie. What is the cause of her jealousy, you may ask? Santana Lopez. You see, she's been obsessed with Santana since straight out of the womb. It seems as Quinn grew, so did her love for this girl along with her hatred for those close to her... to a very strange and unhealthy level. But then again, she never found a healthy outlet for her jealousy in the first place, quite the opposite actually. The thing about Quinn is she's not a bad person... just a terribly jealous one.

The Green-Eyed Monster.

_April 30, 1988._

_It was baby Lucy Quinn Fabray's second birthday. Her mother had invited most of the neighborhood over to their house for a party, though it wasn't much of one. The children were playing in the yard unsupervised, while the men, the ones that were supposed to be supervising them, thought it would be more fun to sit around a television set, burping up beers and chest bumping each other. The women, on the other hand, were doing as most mothers would when they get together, gossip and gawk at their adorable babies._

_Said babies were sprawled out in the family room, while their mothers watched on from the conjoined kitchen area. It hadn't occurred to them how, for such a young age, their children were so close to one another... to the point that it seemed as if they had preferences in which baby they sat and drooled with._

_Rachel and Finn were on the couch babbling on with the song that played on the speakers. Though, apparently, Rachel was more serious about it than most would think a two year old could be for her age, she would lightly smack Finn on the leg every time he would be distracted by any bright lights or shiny objects that came into view._

_Mike and Brittany were on the floor, a little too close to the speakers for comfort, but they were happy, wiggling and giggling to the music. Tina and Artie were sitting awkwardly on the first steps of the staircase, staring down with watering mouths at the two dancers._

_Kurt and Mercedes were playing with Barbie and Ken dolls on the carpet. They were having fun until Kurt insisted on being Barbie, throwing numerous temper tantrums when he didn't get his way. Mercedes would simply ignore her friend and play on. She wouldn't give up her doll for anyone; he could cry if he wanted, she didn't care._

_Noah and Lauren were running around chasing each other, though no one really knew who was chasing who. It didn't really seem to matter because in the end one of them would tackle the other to the ground and they'd explode in a fit of giggles._

_Now, the birthday girl was seated at a small children's table across from her best friend, Santana. If their parents weren't almost positive that the two of them didn't share the same womb, they would've thought that their girls were twins conjoined at the hip. Well, at least on Quinn's part. They were very close friends, though Quinn had always been more dependent and attached to Santana than in vice versa. Santana would, a lot of the time, venture off on her own and play with other babies, much to Quinn's discontent. So since she didn't have the little Latina's full attention at all times, she found her own way of getting it time and time again, as you will soon see._

_The girls sat eating the cupcakes left on the table, just jamming them into their mouths until their faces were covered in sugary, blue frosting and rainbow sprinkles. When they finished, they looked away from their newly destroyed treats, straight at one another. It didn't take long for them to laugh at their own silly antics. They were all toothy smiles and frosted cheeks._

_"Oh my gosh, get the camera! Aren't they the cutest?"_

_"Yeah, but those cute, little mugs are going to be trouble one day."_

_"I know that's right, who knows what kind of shenanigans this bunch will get into in the future."_

_"I don't even want to think about it. Why can't they stay this age forever?"_

_"If only."_

_"Okay, okay enough of this depressing talk; you're all making me stress out! Let's just leave the babies alone for a while and go make some mar-gar-itas! Ay! Ay! Ay!"_

_"Yes, let's. Then I can tell you about what I read in a magazine, fifty ways to get to an orgasm."_

_"Ohh, scandalous!"_

_"You're so nasty!"_

_"Don't I know it?"_

_"Speaking of nasty and scandalous, did you hear about that one school teacher and the janitor?"_

_"Oh, do tell!"_

_"Caught naked on her desk in a very compromising position."_

_"Well, maybe it's in my magazine."_

_"Oh, you slay me!"_

_"We'll continue this in the yard. Kids, you're going to be alone for a while, okay? Be good, mommies love you!" The babies looked up to their mothers for a moment and smiled sweetly, indicating that they had some grasp of what they were being told, but quickly went back to what they were doing previously._

_Quinn and Santana were sitting happily until Blaine decided to come into the picture. Oh, Blaine. Blaine, Blaine, Blaine, Blaine-Blaine! He took a seat between the two, grabbing a cupcake in the process. Just by the fact that he was separating her from Santana, Quinn was mad. Though, on top of that, he took her best friend's attention away from her, too. This was not okay._

_Little Blaine was a straight up player, literally! Instead of eating his cupcake, he turned to Santana with an expression so sweet it could rival the treat in his hand and gave it to her. "You take."_

_She smiled back at him with frosting still covering her face. "Tanks!"_

_This little exchange really made Quinn sick to her stomach for reasons her baby mind couldn't comprehend. All she knew was that she had to do something about it. She got out of her tiny chair and waddled her way over to Blaine. He looked up to greet her, but was met with a cupcake to the face! Quinn had pushed the pastry so hard that it caused him to fall back in his chair and onto the ground. Most babies in this circumstance would have cried, but Blaine was a happy kid, he just giggled it off. With his cupcake face and his hands in the air, he started making monster noises and went to chase Kurt. Kurt, however, had seen him coming and let out a girlish squeal before running away. The chase was on._

_Quinn had ignored the whole thing; instead she went over to Santana with a look of determination in her cute, little face. They looked at each other for a second before she pulled Santana into her arms. "My Tana." She muttered into her best friend's shoulder._

_"S'okay, wuv you." Despite her age, Santana had always understood that Quinn was overly "protective" of her. Even when Santana's mother would hold her, Quinn would get really angry. She'd cry and throw things until the adults put the two together again. Santana did love Quinn, even with her constant jealousy. But she didn't know exactly how long she could or would have to put up with it. Surely as they got older, Quinn would get better, right? Too bad neither Quinn nor Santana could tell the future._

_"No Bwaine?"_

_"No Bwaine."_


	2. Chapter 2

_April 30, 1990._

_It was little Lucy Quinn Fabray's birthday once again! Except this time, the party was at the park, her mother's idea of a four year old's favorite place to be. Oh how wrong she was, if you'd ask any small child where they'd like to spend a birthday, most would say an ice cream shop or candy store... or even Chuck E. Cheese's, you know, if they weren't scared of the probably obese man in the giant mouse costume. But did it really matter to the nonathletic, inhaler plagued Quinn that she would be spending the afternoon in the park where she got chased by that dog in? Not really, as long as Santana was there, she'd be fine. The only bad thing was that her mother just had to invite all the other kids along. Guess she couldn't understand the words, 'I only want Santana there!'_

_The men were at home, insisting that they would only get in the way of the "party process" and that someone should be home to watch the Fabrays' valuables. The women were not amused, but agreed to let the men do as they please after the promise of a shopping spree and unlimited credit card use. They sat on the benches under the cover of trees overhead, discussing their shopping strategy, while keeping the occasional eye on their children in the nearby field and play area._

_"We best be warming up, girls, because I don't know about you, but once those kids are back home and down for a nap, I'm getting in the car and getting me those heels I saw at the mall last week."_

_"Only heels? I plan on buying half of Bloomingdales."_

_"Only half? I plan on buying it all." The women shared a laugh._

_"Sucking our husbands dry, it is!"_

_"Hey, if he don't got the money, he don't get to fuck me!" One of them said in a sing-song voice._

_"You're so bad!"_

_"Yes. And you're a MILF. What's your point?"_

_Several eye rolls later..._

_"Puck, honey, please leave Artie alone! Put that down, young man! No, no you cannot throw it at him then stop! Put it... Put it down! I'm serious, Puck. I'm going to count to three and if you don't..." He threw a fist full of sand in Artie's face. His mother ran over and pulled him by the ear to a secluded corner of the park where no one would hear her discipline him. Artie's mother sat down, brushing sand out of her crying child's eyes._

_"Did she just call him, 'Puck'?"_

_"Yeah, she thinks it's a phase. He went up to her one day and asked her to call him 'Puck."_

_"That's lame." Motherly, aren't they?_

_"Agreed." Yes, yes they are._

_Puck's mother came back over with a resistant Puck trailing behind. "You're going to sit here with us until the party is over. And don't even think about having play dates with Lauren for at least two weeks!"_

_"But, Mom!"_

_"Not another word… unless you want me to make it four weeks." He scrunched up his face and crossed his arms, turning around to face angrily away from his mother._

_On the jungle gym, the children were watching their friend being punished, which most were happy with, others indifferent, and one very mad. "Dat's what he gets for not listenin' to his mommy! Finn, come push me on da swings." Of course, Finn couldn't think of anything better to do in a park full of his friends, than to push bossy, little Rachel Berry on the swing set. He was a lucky boy... kind of._

_"Noah's a stupid head! He hurt Artie!" Even though Tina was mad, she didn't go to check on her friend. She merely sat and continued to play in the sand with the cute, Asian boy, Mike... and Mike's best friend, Brittany._

_"You're da stupid head! Artie made Puck do it! He said mean things!" Lauren gave the other kids a dirty look before racing over to comfort her friend._

_"Why do we call him 'Puck' now?"_

_"Brittany, Noah's a lame-o. He says it's cool, 'cause it's like his last name and hockey pucks and Ding dongs."_

_"Ding dongs are yummy." Oh, Brittany… simple, simple Brittany._

_"It's my birfday 'n I don't wanna talk 'bout Noah no more!" All the kids look at Quinn._

_"What you wanna do, Quinn?"_

_"I wanna play with San." Quinn took her companion's hand and climbed down the jungle gym, settling underneath the metal structure on top of the cool, white sand._

_"How come you don't wanna play with everybody?"_

_"I don't like everybody. And 'cause you're my best friend forever and ever!" That got a smile out of the brunette._

_"What ya wanna do then?"_

_"I don't know, what do you wanna do?"_

_"I don't know, what do you wanna do?"_

_"I don't know, what do you wanna do?"_

_"Find dinosaurs in da sand!" Quinn looks at her friend with a light in her eyes that can only be found when she's with Santana. The cute, little Latina had won over her heart since birth, but everyday she finds something new to love. Today, it's her goofiness._

_"You're silly. All da dinosaurs are gone!"_

_"How do ya know? 'Member all da chewies your mommy gives you? They look like dinosaurs. How do they know that that's what those thingies look like?" For a second there, Quinn was almost convinced. I mean, it made sense, right?_

_"No, dat's 'cause all da books 'n stuff!"_

_Santana crossed her arms and pouted, she knew Quinn was right. Too bad she didn't like to lose. ''I saw a dinosaur yesterday!"_

_"No, you didn't. Dino doesn't count!"_

_"Not Dino. I saw like a baby dinosaur runnin' down da street. It was brown 'n had a real long tail."_

_"It was Noah's dog."_

_"Nuh uh! It was a dinosaur! I think it saw me and was gonna eat me... so, ha!"_

_"You're so silly, Sanny!"_

_"Nuh uh! I'm not silly. You're silly 'n I'm not gonna tell you what I got you 'cause you said dat!"_

_"I wanna know! I'm sowwy, Tana! Tell me! Coooommmmmeeeee Ooooonnnnnn!" Quinn pouted and grabbed onto Santana's arm, shaking the girl back and forth. Who could keep a straight face after that? Not Santana._

_"'Kay! But only 'cause I love you!"_

_"Yay! What'd ya get me? Huh? Huh? What'd ya get me?" Santana was about to reveal the big secret when she overheard the name she had trained herself to be acute to. Guess who? Yup, Blaine's back!_

_"Where were you, Blaine?" "Hey, Blaine!" "Blaine!"_

_"Hi, guys!" He made his way over to Quinn with a handful of pink tulips and one daisy. Quinn hates pink... Quinn hates flowers. "Sorry I'm late, Quinn. Mommy and me went to da flower store and I picked dem for you!" Despite the fact that she disliked his gift, Quinn knew it would've been rude to decline, so she went to take the flowers from him. Blaine stopped her. He separated the daisy from the others, then preceded to hand Quinn the tulips, while handing Santana the daisy._

_"This one's for Santana." He smiled at his crush, whose eyes and smile were downcast towards the flower that she was now sniffing. "It's not your birthday, but I thought it was pretty and you're pretty, so..."_

_Santana tackles Blaine to the ground, with her arms tightly secure around his neck. "Thanks, I love it!" Blaine laid under her with a slight blush that ran across his cheeks._

_As you can imagine, Quinn was fuming. I mean, who wouldn't be? How dare this little striped tie wearing, flower giving jerk face come in and steal her best friend? "San, get up, the ground's dirty!"_

_"Don't care."_

_"But your mommy's gonna be mad!"_

_"I get dirty all da time!"_

_"Uhhh... Blaine's crushing your flower with his big head!" She got them with that one. The two kids got up and scurried apart to find that it was already too late, the flower was indeed crushed._

_"I didn't mean to, pwomise!" She looked at her gift with a frown, which slowly turned into a bright smile. "S'okay Blaine, we can find anuder one." She dropped the flower and grabbed Blaine's hand, pulling him towards the grassy area of the park._

_"Tana, you were playing with me!"_

_"I'll play with you lader. Me and Blaine are gonna look for flowers now." They had made it all the way to the flower clad, cement path's edge, before Quinn burst into tears. A record: forty two seconds. She ran over to her mother, bouquet forgotten, with tears streaming down her face and babbling incoherently._

_Mrs. Fabray knelt down to her crying daughter and brushed her blonde locks out of that perfect face. "What's wrong, Princess?" Quinn just gripped onto her mother's sweater and cried harder._

_"Come on, honey, you can tell me." Hazel eyes looked up at her._

_"Bwaine, he... 'n den... Tana pwayed wit him... she said..."_

_"Can you be a little clearer for momma, huh?"_

_Quinn cleared her throat to the best of her abilities and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Blaine came and Tana went to play with him!" All the mothers simultaneously rolled their eyes; they've heard this story before. 'Sanny left me!' 'San said she was sleeping over at Brittany's!' 'Tana can't come over 'cause her mommy won't let her!' Tear. Tear. Tear. Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle. It's the same thing every time, Quinn's losing it because Santana isn't or can't be with her and only her, twenty four seven. The whole needy thing was getting a little old. Actually, it got old after the first year, now it's on life support, just waiting for someone to pull the plug... But they won't. They all think it would be damaging to separate the two and Quinn will probably grow out of this phase soon enough, at least they hoped._

_"I told you, baby, Santana can play with whoever she wants to play with. She's your best friend; she'll always come back to you... But for now, why don't you go play with some of your other friends?"_

_"No! I want Tana! I want Tana! I WANT TANA!" She dropped to the ground, kicking and screaming, screaming and kicking like the world was about to end._

_"Honey honey honey, it's okay. Just lower your voice, please!" Quinn was starting to get the attention of her "friends" and other passersby. "NO! I! WANT! TANA!"_

_"You be quiet or I'm going to take you home right now, missy!" Like most of the time when parents say that, her child only got louder. Smooth move, mommy._

_"Okay, that's it. Party's over. Quinn get up and go to car!" By this time, all eyes were on them, including Santana's. She had been spending a wonderful two minutes picking flowers with Blaine until she had heard a familiar cry engulf the park. Quinn. She turned to her companion with sorrow in her eyes, before running off to calm her best friend... as always. She reached her mother, tugging on the hem of her pant leg to get her attention. Mrs. Lopez bent down to listen to what Santana had to say. After hearing the suggestion, she smiled approvingly and looked through her bag, retrieving what the little girl had asked for. Santana then cautiously walked over to the two emotionally unstable Fabrays._

_"Mrs. Fabray?" Quinn's mother turned to Santana with anger, but slowly started to calm once she realized she was scaring the girl._

_"Yes, Santana?"_

_"Can I give Quinn her present?" Santana was the only one that could get Quinn to stop. Everyone knew that she had something up her sleeve to do so. "Yes, honey, you can."_

_Quinn had already stopped crying when she heard Santana's voice, but refused to leave the ground, so Santana sat down next to her. She ran her hand from Quinn's shoulder all the way down to the small of her back. "Quinn?"_

_She received a muffled, "Huh?" as a response._

_"You wanna open what I got you, now? I picked it out all by myself... mommy paid for it though, 'cause I don't gots no money." Quinn turned over to find her best friend holding out a small, blue gift wrapped box. Santana had obviously wrapped it all by herself also because it wasn't pretty... but it's the thought that counts. Quinn looked at the gift then back at Santana, who gave her a nod. That was all she needed to rip the paper apart and tear out the gift inside. It was a light green, clip on hair bow. The kind of green that matched Quinn's eyes perfectly._

_Santana took it from her, then did what Quinn's mother had done to her daughter just minutes ago, brushed the blonde locks out of Quinn's pretty, little face. When she was done, the bow was firmly situated in said locks. Santana smiled and Quinn did the same._

_"I saw it then I 'membered your eyes."_

_"Jesus! That Santana is one hell of a miracle worker!"_

* * *

><p>Leave me a comment... Quinn Fabray says so!;)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

_April 30, 1992._

_It's everyone's favorite time of every two years once again! What time is it, you may ask? Lucy Quinn Fabray's birthday: year six edition! That's right; she's getting older and, as time has proven, just a little bit more jealous... of Blaine. But who isn't, right? He's one good looking, easy going kid. Anyways, do you know what's different about Quinn this year? Huh, do ya? Dooooooo yaaaaa? No? Well, unlike years prior to this one, she has gained quite a bit of knowledge and has gotten a hell of a lot smarter... we're talking evil kid genius smart! You see, for the first five years of her life, she was wrong; she had publicly displayed the monstrous, jealous side of herself. That is a no-no, but she realized it and has since changed. Now she loves spending time with her "friends" and couldn't care less if she doesn't see a certain someone for days... but we all know that that's a lie, a very well constructed lie, but a lie none the less. She still felt the familiar burning of dislike and jealousy toward those children her age and of course her attachment to Santana was still strong, if not stronger. This whole charade was worth it though, she had her parents eating out of the palm of her little hand; they loved "normal" Quinn, they let "normal" Quinn do whatever the hell she wanted. So, is Quinn Fabray smart? You bet her future hot ass, she is!_

_The men were, as usual, nowhere to be seen. They had decided to all go out for a "food run" before the party started. The women weren't stupid though, they knew their husbands were going to the strip club, but they still let them go with goodbye hugs and kisses. Why did they let them go? They thought it'd be funny, since they stole their cash and all. What's funnier than middle aged men... at a strip joint... with no money? Nothing... except when they open their wallets to find pictures of their children, with notes on the back all saying, "You ain't gettin' any for a month, douche bag." The men were definitely not coming home for the night. They'd go to a single friend's house and sulk in beer and x-box. Sad._

_At home, the women sat in the Fabray's kitchen and watched as their children ran around and around... and around. "Do you really think you can watch, let me see... kids, stop moving!" The children freeze. "One, two, three... uh, fourteen kids, you know, if you count Lauren as one because she looks like two, all by yourself?"_

_Lauren's mother shoots out of her chair in anger. "Hey, that's MY kid you're talkin' 'bout, Lopez!" She gets shot a glare._

_"That's what you get for getting MY kid a fuckin' play lawnmower for her birthday!" She slowly eases herself back into her chair with her eyes downcast. "Yeah, that's right, Zizes, you better shut up and sit your racist ass down!"_

_"Anyways... We'll just have to get them tired and I'll drink. I'll be fine."_

_"Sure you will... We're out!" Santana's mother waved her hand, signaling for the other mother's to get up and make their way towards the door._

_"Eyy, I thought you guys were staying!"_

_"You're on your own, Fabray. You can have the fuckers' money, but we ain't stayin' to watch these kids. Sleepovers mean we get a break."_

_"I don't want the money. Just get me some liquor."_

_Mrs. Lopez smirks. "Already done. We stocked your 'don't touch cabinet' up real nice."_

_"You're the best."_

_"Don't I know it? Now kids, we're off okay? Be good for Mrs. Fabray. And Santana..." She called her daughter to come over to her with the curl of her finger. She bent down and brought her daughter close enough to whisper in her ear. "When the kids get out of hand, you know how to take care of them, right?"_

_"Yes, mama." She pats her daughter on the head before she heads out to meet the others. "Good girl... I'm out, Fabray. Don't get too drunk before the kids are in bed."_

_"Fuck off, Lopez." She gives her the finger. The children all gasp at the spectacle._

_"Ohhhh, you said a bad word!" Puck pointed accusingly at Quinn's mother._

_"And she put up the bad finger! Mommy says that that's double bad!" Brittany explains._

_"I..." She had no way out of this. "I'm sorry, kids. Those were bad things to say and do and I apologize."_

_"You have to say sorry to Santana's mommy!" She gives Kurt a dirty look, making him cower behind Blaine, before turning to a smirking Lopez. "I'm sorry, Lopez."_

_"No problemo, Fabray." And she finally makes it out the door._

_When the door shuts, all the kids look expectantly at Mrs. Fabray. Who knew fourteen sets of eyes can be so intimidating? Now you know..._

_"So, who wants to go to bed?" They all giggle. "It's just five, Mrs. Quinn's mommy." Aww, Brittany's so cute!_

_"Oh, right... yes. Thank you, Brittany."_

_"You're welcome!" Their eyes are still on her._

_"Okay, well... why don't you get into your pj's and we'll start this slumber party!" The kids looked a little skeptical, but decided to roll with it. They start to remove their clothing, until Quinn's mother stopped them. "Oh no, kids, you can't... why don't you... Quinn, take all the girls to your room and get changed. The boys will change in here." Quinn merely nodded, took Santana by hand, and proceeded to walk upstairs with the other girls right behind her._

_/_

_All the girls sat on Quinn's bed after having finished dressing. "Why do you think that your mommy made us put on our jammies without the boys, Quinn?"_

_"I don't know, Britt... probably 'cause they're gross."_

_"Not true, Quinn. Blaine's really cute!" Not the smoothest move on Santana's part. Quinn wasn't happy, but she hid it well._

_"Nuh uh! You just say so 'cause you like him or something." Not the smoothest move on Quinn's part. Santana was blushing with her eyes downcast, confirming Quinn's worst nightmare. It got quiet, awkwardly quiet... until Brittany decided to make her opinion known._

_"I think Blaine's cute too, and Sam, and Mike, and Puck, and Kurt, and sometimes Artie, but not Finn 'cause he's Rachel's." Rachel gave her a 'you bet' smile and an affirmative nod. "Wanna know a secret?" The girls all nodded. "I think that Santana's kinda cute too!"_

_"You can't like a girl, Brittany, it's weird!"_

_"Uh huh, I can. My mommy says that I can like anybody I want!" She crossed her arms over her chest with a pout, which quickly vanished as Santana hugged her from behind. "It's okay, Britt, I think you're cute too." Quinn sat and looked on, without jealousy, at her friends' interactions as she tried to analyze this new information. Was it really okay to like girls and think they were cute? And if so, was this the case with her and Santana? Huh, interesting…_

_"Girls, you can come down now, we're going to start the movie marathon!" Mrs. Fabray called from the living room._

_As the girls made their way downstairs, they came to find all their sleeping bags set up for them, boys on one side, girls on the other. Strange... why would she divide between the sexes? Think about it..._

_The girls didn't give it a second thought as they took seats on their sleeping bags. "So, what movie do you want to watch first? We have Tarzan, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Mulan, The Lion King... what's it gonna be?" All the kids started to scream out their answers at the same time. Santana saw how frazzled Mrs. Fabray was, so she did what her mom had told her to do in this situation... tell Quinn to make them stop. That little girl can be really scary when she wanted to be. "Everyone, quiet!" The room goes silent._

_"Okay, this isn't going to work. Quinn, since it's your birthday, baby, what movie would you like to watch first?" Quinn, who was, of course, sitting next to Santana, didn't have to think twice._

_"Pocahontas!" It was her favorite movie because her best friend was in it, or at least a cartoon that bore a resemblance to her best friend. Yes, she was that obsessed._

_"But you always want to watch Pocahontas, Quinn!"_

_"You can pick then, San." Quinn was too content with leaning on Santana with their hands interlocked to care what movie they watched._

_"I wanna watch Tarzan." Blaine gave Santana an approving smile, before high-fiving her from his seat on the other side of Quinn. "Tarzan is the coolest!"_

_"Yeah, he's the coolest! Too bad Jane's such a meanie!" Oh Brittany, she just read all your minds!_

_/_

_After they finished the movie and dinner, all the kids sat around the dining room table, waiting for Quinn to make her wish and blow out the candles so they could have cake. She was taking forever. Seriously, it was a long time, with or without the short attention span of a six year old. But who could blame her, this was a free wish! Free. Wish. It only comes once a year, people, only once a year! She had to make it a good wish... Finally, she opened her eyes and blew out the candles. The kids all clapped and 'woo-ed.'_

_"Yay, what'd you wish for, Quinn?"_

_"It's a secret, San. It won't come true if I tell you!"_

_"You can say it real quiet and we can pretend you didn't." Quinn playfully punches Santana on the arm for her suggestion._

_"No, I can't!"_

_"Okay. Okay. I didn't want to know anyways!"_

_"Yeah, you did."_

_"Yeah, I did."_

_"Okay now, who's up for cake and another movie?"_

_/_

_Two movies and a copious amount of cake later and the kids were basically knocked out, not unlike a certain mother who was, at the moment, cuddling with a bottle of vodka. Sleeping bags forgotten, they just dropped wherever they sat last. On one end of the couch, Finn slept with Rachel half on top of him. On the other end, Puck and Lauren were in a similar position except reversed, Puck, with the word 'stoopid' written on his face in cake frosting, snuggling up to his pudgy friend. The rest of the kids were sprawled across the floor in a similar fashion... Kurt, Mercedes, and Sam... Brittany, Mike, Tina, and Artie... and of course, Blaine, Santana, and Quinn._

_The way those three had fallen asleep was quite interesting as opposed to their friends. Yes, they looked cute and all, but the way they laid told a story of sorts. Santana rested her head on the area between Blaine's shoulder and his chest with her arm gently draped over his midsection. The same arm she rested on, Blaine used to wrap around her shoulder. To most, those two would be the cutest couple... at least until they saw Santana's other arm was outstretched behind her, her hand grasping Quinn's tightly, then it got more complicated. But this was all just an innocent gesture, wasn't it? How could children possibly develop such complex feelings and relationships at such a young age?_

_Quinn began to stir when she couldn't feel Santana's warm body next to her own; she reached out to find only the cold floor. She opened her eyes and all she saw was darkness. As her eyes slowly began to adjust, she was met with a devastating sight, her best friend in the arms of a hair gelled charmer._

_Without a word, she disconnected their hands and made her way up to her room. She cuddled up in her cold sheets, slowly rejoining her friends in slumber until she heard the door creak open and little footsteps make their way to her bed. The bed dips for a second before someone squirms under the covers and pulls Quinn's body close to theirs._

_"You know, it's not nice to leave me like that." Santana whispers to her._

_"I thought you were comfy with Blaine." Quinn shoots back, without turning to face her friend._

_"I was, but I have to spend my best friend's birthday with my best friend. 'Sides, he's not as warm as you."_

_"Yeah?"_

_Santana cuddled closer to her friend's warm body. "Yeah... and not as cute."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Yeah. I love your blonde hair and your hazel eyes; they're so pretty... you're the cutest." Quinn shifted in Santana's arms to face her._

_"Yeah?"_

_Santana smiled. "Yeah."_

_"Cuter than Brittany?"_

_"Cuter than Brittany."_

_"Cuter than Blaine?"_

_"Yes, Quinn, cuter than Blaine!"_

_"Good." Her arms tightened around the brunette._

_"You never opened my present."_

_"I know what it is though. You always give me bows."_

_"Yeah, but the surprise is what color! It could be blue, it could be yellow, it could be green again, you don't know."_

_"Okay, let me see." Santana opened up her hand to reveal a purple hair bow. "I love it." She clipped it onto Quinn's hair like she did the year before and the one before that. She looked at it with a smile, priding herself on her work. "You always do."_

_They lay together, wrapped in each other's arms, drifting once again. When Santana's breathing evened out, Quinn was sure she was asleep and it was safe. She lazily brushed Santana's dark mane out of her face and just stared at her for a while, consumed by the beauty in front of her. Her eyes concentrated on every feature of that face, etching them into her mind and committing them to memory. As sleep started to take her over and her eyes slowly began shutting, she let out a faint, "I wished we would always be together." And with the last of her energy, she leant over her friend's sleeping body and placed a light kiss on her cheek._

* * *

><p>Thanks for all the kind comments, everyone! I'd appreciate it if they kept coming!:) By the way, there will only be two more chapters after this one... until the end.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

_April 30, 1994._

_Woooooooooooooooo! Whose birthday is it? Quinn freakin' Fabray's. How old is she? Kick ass eight. And who is her best friend/ possible love of her life? Yeah, pretty sure you know... just checking though. Of course, that would be, the one and only, Santana Lopez. Who else could it be? Blaine? Ha, that's funny! So anyways, things are good; the kids are growing up and all that jazz. Quinn... she has her days, but most of the time she's alright, despite the fact that Blaine and Santana are getting closer. They're getting so close, in fact, that they could be considered the Romeo and Juliet of their time, probably because they kind of are. Yup, they were cast as the leads in their class play, 'Roman and Julie,' much to Rachel and Quinn's discontent._

_After weeks of blood, sweat, and mostly Rachel's tears, opening night has finally come and guess whose birthday it's on? If you guessed Blaine's, and surely most of you did, you'd be wrong. It's on Quinn's birthday, silly! It's cool though, afterwards everyone's going to head over to the Fabray's for a post-play/ birthday/ overall awesome party. Though, as of now, everyone's in the school's auditorium awaiting the performance, after so many other classes had gone before them. Seriously, everyone came, even the kids' fathers. Finally those bastards try to do something right... and the word "try" is being used loosely. The men were indeed sitting in the audience, which was good; too bad they weren't exactly conscious. It was kind of like in high school when you'd somewhat doze off at your desk; your eyelids would get heavy and your head would rest on your hand, then just when you'd fall asleep, your head shifts and you almost face-plant but you're quick enough to catch yourself before it happens. Then your friend next to you is laughing their ass off, but you just wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth and play it off like it's nothing because you were so freakin' badass with reflexes like a ninja and whatnot. Yeah... it was like that. Hasn't happened to you? Liar._

_The women were seated next to their husbands, but it didn't stop them from talking to one another. The most interesting topic of discussion: the Lopez' "unique" choice of attire._

_"Why, just… why?"_

_"This is the shit, Fabray. You know!" The couple was dressed in neon pink track pants and matching shirts that said "Don't be hatin', hater. Sorry life sucks when your kid's not TALENTED like MINE!"_

_"I can't even… how did you get him to wear that degrading thing?"_

_Mrs. Lopez leans back in her chair and pops her collar, trying to act all gangster-like and whatnot. "I have my ways."_

_An eyebrow is raise, accompanied by an un-amused face._

_"Okay, okay, stop with the eyebrow and the third degree! You know I can't stand that." Mrs. Lopez turns away from the blonde, shielding herself from "the look." "I just yell at the fucker 'til he agrees to anything I want. Happy now?"_

_"Do you know you're all sorts of crazy?"_

_"At least I'm not the one with that bottle of tequila in my purse."_

_"You were in my purse?"_

_Mrs. Lopez held her hands in front of her in surrender. "Hey, I was just looking for some candy."_

_"Candy?"_

_"I wants me some sweets."_

_"You're unbelievable. Why would I even have…"_

_"Shhh! Brittany's on stage. Shut up." She turned to face the stage, ignoring Mrs. Fabray's incredulous look._

_"I wasn't finished talking. And if you think that…"_

_"I also saw Mr. Vibrator keeping Sra. Tequila company." Silence._

_"Yeah, thought so."_

_Brittany skips onto stage in a cute, little sundress and her hair in pigtails, microphone in hand. She stops center stage, spotlight pointed straight at her. She smiles and waves at no one in particular in the darkened auditorium._

_With microphone in front of her, she says, "Hi, everybody!"_

_"Wow, I'm really loud right now!" The audience laughs at her cuteness._

_"Anyways, I'm Brittany S. Pierce." She spots her father sleeping in the audience. "Daddy, you promised you'd watch me! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Her mother nudges her husband with her elbow, waking him up. "What?" He looks around to find everyone looking at him. "Oh."_

_"Morning, Daddy! You promised to watch me, remember?"_

_He slumps down in his seat, embarrassed, but still nodding his head in response to his daughter. "Sorry, honey. Go on."_

_"Thanks, Daddy!... It's nice to meet you all. Mr. Shue told me I had to go up here and talk about the play and stuff, so… hi! Me and my friends, Mr. Shue's third grade class, have been working real hard to remember our lines and practice. I hope you like it, it's called "Roman and Julie" based on Willie's "Romeo and Juliet." Mr. Shue said that since most of us are eight we had to change it, so it'd make sense. We changed the names of the people too because their names were really weird and kinda made me laugh._

_"So I'm gonna tell you my friends' names and who they're pretending to be! Oh, guess what, guess what?"_

_The audience lets out a harmonious, "What?"_

_Brittany giggles, "I get to be a boy!" And the audience laughs._

_"Okay… The Monte… Monsters?… Mo-"_

_"Montegues, Brittany, The Montegues!" Mr. Shue tells her from backstage._

_"Thanks, Mr. Shue, I always forget how to say that." Mr. Shue face-palms in the most loving of ways._

_"So those guys… Blaine is Roman. Kurt is Marty, Roman's friend. Artie is Benny, Roman's best friend/ cousin. I'm Abe, their friend. And Tina and Mike are Roman's mommy and daddy. And the Capulets… Santana is the really pretty, Julie." There is a loud "Why?" heard from backstage courtesy of Santana's understudy, Rachel Berry. Then Mrs. Lopez yells from the audience, "Yeah, go Santana! You're number one! You're number one! That's my baby, I made her! I squeezed that little talent out of my…"_

_"Shut it, Lopez! There are children here!"_

_"That was weird." Brittany shrugs it off pretty quickly though and takes in one big breath before stating the rest of the characters in a super quick fashion. "Quinn is Nancy, Julie's best friend. Puck is Tim, Julie's cousin. Lauren and Mercedes are Greg and Sammie, their friends. Rachel and Finn are Julie's mommy and daddy. Sam is Perri, the guy that likes Julie. And Mr. Shue is Lawry, the babysitter._

_"I know it's really confusing and everything, but it's okay, they had to remind me a lot, too." Awww, too cute!_

_"So now's the part when I get serious!" Brittany fakes what she thinks to be seriousness with squinty eyes, a scrunched up nose, and pouting. It doesn't take long for her to burst into a bright smile._

_"Two households, both alike in riches,  
><em>_In fair Lima, where we lay our scene.  
><em>_From meanie-face hatred they were real bi-"_

_"Brittany!"_

_"Sorry, Mr. Shue. I meant, 'witches.'_

_"Where civil juice makes civil hands unclean.  
><em>_From forth the naughty parts of these two foes_  
><em>A pair of playground-cross'd third graders take their leave;<em>  
><em>Whole sad disaster overthrows,<em>  
><em>Do with their disappearance bury their parents' peeve.<em>  
><em>The scary passage of their misguided love,<em>  
><em>And the going on and on of their parents' rage,<em>  
><em>Which, but their children's plan, could not remove,<em>  
><em>Is now the thirty minutes' traffic of our stage;<em>  
><em>The which if you with listening ears attend,<em>  
><em>What here shall miss, our hard work will try to mend."<em>

_The spotlight fades and the audience applauds. Brittany, being the little ninja she is, scampers across the stage in the dark. She almost makes it backstage, but sadly trips on her microphone's cord and makes a loud thud as she reached the stage curtain._

_"I'm okay, everybody! I'm okay!" Mr. Shue appears from behind the curtain and proceeds to help her up, guiding her to the back before she could hurt herself again._

_"Oh, Brittany…"_

_She smiles. "I did pretty good, right?" Face-palm._

_/_

_Backstage, Quinn was freaking out, like "she couldn't see Santana for a week" kind of freaking out. She'd stand at the side of the stage and every few minutes peek behind the curtain to find a room full of people. Every time she did, though, the amount of people would seemly double… then triple… oh no, now she's feeling dizzy._

_"Are you okay, Q?" Santana took Quinn by the forearm to a chair and sat her down._

_"I don't think so, I kind of feel like throwing up all over the place." Santana knelt down, resting between Quinn's legs. She raised her hands to cup her friend's cheek and forehead, looking for any signs of distress. Quinn's cheeks instantly turned a dark shade of pink at the contact. She looked away._

_"You don't feel sick."_

_"Still, I think I should maybe skip the play."_

_"What? We've been working so hard. Don't you want to show our parents how good we are? I know my mommy's real excited, she made t-shirts and everything."_

_Quinn takes in a deep breath and speaks in a small voice. "I'm scared, San."_

_"Aww, come here. It's going to be okay." Quinn leans down into Santana's awaiting arms. "We'll all be up there with you. You'll have fun, I promise."_

_"San…"_

_"I'll give you your birthday present early if that'll make you feel better."_

_"It's a bow, San. I don't need to see it early."_

_"The color, Quinn, the color it what's important. How many times do I have to tell you?"_

_"Everything you give me is important to me."_

_"Oh hey, guys! Getting pumped for the play?" Oh Blaine, why oh why must he ruin these moments? It's okay though, he makes up for it by being the fine piece of eight year old ass he is. Tonight, he's just a bit cuter… that striped tie and those pink sunglasses would drive any girl crazy. Let's just say you should take a minute to calm yourself._

_"Not really, Blaine, Quinn's got stage fright."_

_Blaine tilts his head to the side and gives her a sympathetic smile. "You'll be great, Q. Don't worry about it." Despite his kind gesture, he still had no right to call her "Q," that was a right reserved for Santana and Santana alone. What the hell was he thinking? Guess the hair gel is blocking the flow of oxygen to his brain. Oh well, at least he'll always have his looks._

_Quinn could only muster a slight tug to the corner of her lips, enough to leave Blaine unaware of his growing annoyance. "Thanks."_

_"No problem. Oh uh, Santana?" Suddenly nervous, Blaine had his eyes downcast, shyly kicking at the ground where he stood. "Mr. Shue said he wants to talk to us, before the play starts, about some kiss or something… I think… Maybe." Oh, he knew. There was no "maybe" about it._

_Quinn's ears perked up at the sound of a kiss. She looked straight into Santana's eyes. "What kiss?"_

_"I don't know. I should probably go talk to Mr. Shue. I'll be right back." As she gets back up on her feet, following behind Blaine, she feels a tender tug on her hand. She looks back to see Quinn pout. She tries to disconnect from Quinn, only to have the hold secure more firmly around her hand. Her gaze moves from their intertwined hands to her friend's eyes. There are no words spoken, though a conversation unfolds between them._

_Quinn slowly loosens her grip on Santana's hand until they are separated again._

_"I'll be right back okay, Q?"_

_"Yeah, okay." It's barely audible._

_Santana gives her a reassuring smile before going off to talk to Blaine and Mr. Shue in one of the dressing rooms that she saw her co-star go into further backstage._

_As Quinn sat there quietly awaiting Santana's return, she overheard Mercedes and Lauren talking, quite loudly, in the corner of the other side of the stage._

_"Oh my god, I can't believe they're gonna kiss!"_

_"I know, right? Finally!"_

_"It's kinda weird though, 'cause aren't we too little for that kinda stuff? I think boys are cute, but kissing is… I just don't know."_

_"It's okay 'cause they like each other, right? People are supposed to kiss and stuff when they like each other."_

_"Really? Then why haven't you and Puck kissed, huh?" Mercedes cocks her head to the side and rests her hands on her hips._

_"…He's stupid. I don't know if I like him and stuff, he's just cool to play with. Plus we're not like Blaine and Santana. They're like totally perfect together."_

_"But, what about Quinn?"_

_"Quinn will be so excited for them! We should go and tell her the good news!" As Lauren went to get Quinn, Mercedes held her back by the forearm._

_"I don't think that's a good idea, Lauren. Quinn… I think she… I think she likes Santana, like like-likes her. She's probably not going to be happy about the kiss."_

_"Really? No, I'm pretty sure they're just really really really good best friends since like forever."_

_"Still, we shouldn't say anything to her just in case."_

_"Okay, whatever you say."_

_Quinn sat absorbing this newfound knowledge. There was a grimace displayed on delicate features at the thought of her Santana and Blaine sharing an intimate kiss on the lips. Yes, she had kissed Santana in the past, but all of those were on the cheek while Santana was peacefully asleep. This, however, would be Santana's first on-the-lips kiss and she would very much be conscious at the time for it. Then it hit her. Those words repeated in her mind, those horrible, horrible words. To think that Blaine and Santana could be "perfect together" made Quinn visibly sick to her stomach. Even worse is the thought that Santana could enjoy the kiss._

_From there, Quinn's mind was filled with thoughts of the future. Santana would enjoy the kiss and start "dating" Blaine. She'd spend all her free time with him and completely ignore her best friend. Eventually they'd end up "growing apart," leaving Quinn heartbroken and alone. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! What could she do to stop this nightmare from happening? She'd have to tie Santana up and hide her in her tree house or tell Blaine that they're playing hide and seek and never go find him or…_

_"Quinn, are you okay? You look really sick." Santana reclaimed her previous position between Quinn's knees, her hands softly stroking her best friend's flushed cheeks."I think maybe you were right, you should skip the play. I don't want you to faint of anything."_

_"No, I'm okay. I… I was a little scared, but I'm fine now." Santana hands fell to her sides. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face and their sudden lack of physical contact showed that she wasn't pleased with Quinn's decision to perform._

_"Hey." Quinn tugged on Santana's waist, pulling her onto her lap. Her arms secured around the brunette's midsection, bringing their bodies close. "I'm fine… really. And we're going to have fun, right?"_

_"Only if you're sure."_

_"I'm sure, San. Thanks for caring." Santana smiled._

_"That's what I do, 'cause you're real special to me, Q." Quinn blushed._

_"You're really special to me too, S."_

_"Okay, kids, gather 'round. It's almost show time!" All of the children, excluding their eccentric host, came to listen to Mr. Shuester. "You've been working hard for weeks now and tonight is the night you show them what you've got. I'm so proud of each and every one of you and I just hope you go out there and have fun, okay?"_

_"Yeah!" The cast envelope their teacher in a big group hug. As they disperse in preparation for their scenes, Santana takes Quinn aside._

_"Here, Quinn." She hands Quinn an orange hair bow. "You know, for your birthday… and good luck." Quinn smiles at the gift in her hands, but places it back in Santana's hands. She was met with a questioning look._

_"I love it, San. It's just you always put it in my hair for me, so…"_

_"I get it." Santana expertly brushes the hair out of Quinn's face, leaving the bow firmly in place. She looks at it with pride like every other time before._

_/_

_Act I, Scene I._

_The curtains rise to reveal Mercedes and Lauren walking through the "park," i.e. the stage with a giant sheet of painted butcher paper as the backdrop, while sucking their thumbs._

_"I can't wait for the party tonight!"_

_"I know, Julie's mommy and daddy have the bestest parties ever!"_

_Brittany enters the scene, putting on the meanest face she could muster… and from experience, it is pretty obvious that she failed miserably. "Hey, are you guys sucking you thumbs?"_

_Mercedes and Lauren look at each other before looking back at Brittany. "No, we're not."_

_"Yes, you are. You're still doing it now!" They remove their thumbs from their mouths. "You guys are such babies!"_

_"No, we're not!"_

_"You guys, can't we just get along? I mean, we all play in this park, we should all be friends." Artie wheels in on his new wheelchair. He had recently gotten into a car accident that year, leaving him unable to walk, but he was adjusting nicely. He stayed positive with the help of his friends. And hey, he could pop a wheelie like nobody's business._

_"Whatever, Bennie, we can't be friends 'cause us Capulets are better than you sucky Montegues." Puck struts in like he owns the place, in his muscle shirt and boots._

_Artie wheels up to Puck, stopping in front of him. "That's not true, Tim. Our families are the same!"_

_Puck crosses his arms. "Yeah? What about our money? We have so much more money than you guys!"_

_"I don't think we should care how rich our families are."_

_"That's what poor losers say!" Puck pretended to punch Artie in the face, causing the rest of the kids to fight as well. Mike and Finn enter from both sides of the stage, running to their make believe kin. Mike pulled back Artie's wheel chair and Finn held onto a struggling Puck._

_"Why are you two fighting?"_

_"No, the problem is why is your nephew hitting mine, Capulet?" Mike stood in front of Finn, poking him in the chest._

_Finn looked out into the audience, seeing all the people made his throat grow dry. He opened his mouth to speak, but was unable to._

_"I… uh…"_

_Mr. Shue, from the side of the stage, cursed under his breath. "Damn it, not another one!" He looked on to find Finn just staring at the audience, mouth wide open. "Finn, say something, anything!"_

_"I…sorry." He simply ran off stage._

_/_

_Blaine and Artie stroll through a now quiet park scene. "I really love her, Bennie, I do."_

_"I really don't think so, Roman. We're only eight; we don't even know what love is yet."_

_Blaine stops in his tracks, leans down to Artie's level and grabs him by the shoulders. Their eyes meet. "No, I love her, Bennie. Rose is the most beautiful girl in the third grade." The audience laughs._

_Mrs. Lopez shoots out of her chair. "You haven't seen my daughter yet, Roman! I guarantee you, she's a looker." Mrs. Fabray pulls her "friend" back down by her sleeve._

_"She's the only one I'll ever want to play with on the playground, ever. I want to hold her hand and share my cookies and juice boxes with her."_

_"I don't think your mom packs you enough food for that!" The auditorium fills with wholehearted chuckles._

_/_

_Act I, Scene II._

_"Look, Roman, there's a party at the Capulet's house this afternoon. We should go."_

_"My mom and dad don't like them. I don't think we were invited."_

_"It's okay, we can sneak in. We'll only be there for a little bit so your mom and dad won't even know that we're gone. I just want to show you all the pretty girls, then you'll forget about Rose!"_

_Blaine playfully punches him in the shoulder. "I'll go, but if you think you'll change my mind, you're wrong. Rose is the most awesomest girl ever!"_

_"You haven't even talked to her yet! You're crazy, cousin, you're really crazy."_

_"Crazy in love!" Awww._

_/_

_Act I, Scene III._

_Santana and Quinn walk into the stage "bedroom", holding hands. As Quinn sees everyone in the audience for the first time, she stops in pure fright. Though, when she feels Santana's hand tighten around hers and a comforting smile shot her way, she relaxes._

_Before they could speak, Santana's mother is out of her seat once again. "Woo, Santana! That's right, that's my baby! Woo-woo! You're so pretty, honey! You go get yourself that boy candy!"_

_Least expected is for Quinn's mother to stand as well, foam finger in hand. "Quinn, baby, you're the best! You're a star, honey! You're number one! These other kids don't got anything on you!"_

_"What the fuckin' hell, Fabray? Why didn't you get me a foam finger, too?"_

_Someone in the back row yells to them, "Hey, ladies, you want to take this outside? Your kids are waiting to perform here!"_

_The two women look back at the guy and sneer, before sitting back down. If looks could kill… "You best be watchin' your mouth, now!"_

_"Go on, babies. Show us what you've got!"_

_Quinn and Santana unconsciously gulp before starting their scene. They didn't have to say it; their mothers are a whole new kind of crazy._

_"So, Julie, do you like any of the boys in our class?" Quinn sat on one of the chairs provided for them._

_Santana went to the "dresser" and took out a brush, handing it to Quinn as she sat down next to her best friend. Quinn began to comb through the long, brown locks._

_"I don't know. I guess they're cute and everything, but I don't really think of boys like that yet." Oh, if only._

_"Yeah? I guess that's a good thing."_

_"Yeah…"_

_"What about Perri? You've been hanging out with him a lot."_

_"My mom and dad are friends with his mom and dad, so they like it when me and him have play dates."_

_"But it looks like Perri likes you." Out of nowhere, Rachel comes barging onto stage._

_"Honey, did I hear you speak of Perri?" Her voice projected far, bouncing off the walls of the auditorium._

_"Uh, yes, Mommy… we were talking about Perri."_

_Rachel made her way over to Santana, pulling her into an overly dramatic hug. The force and speed actually knocked Quinn off balance and sent her falling to the ground, along with the hairbrush._

_"Oh, Qui-, Nancy, are you okay?"_

_Quinn got off the ground, dusted off her clothes and replied with a tight smile. "Yes… Mrs. Capulet, I'm fine."_

_"Good, dear, now back to Perri. Do you like him, Julie?"_

_"Well, I guess he's…"_

_"This is so good! I'm so glad that you like him. I'll set up more play dates… actually; you'll even see him this afternoon at our party." And this is the part when the scene would have ended if not for Rachel's thirst for the spotlight. Oh yes, she started to improvise. "Yes, that blonde haired boy is some looker, isn't he? I'm sure when you get older; you two would make the cutest couple…"_

_Santana and Quinn are looking at each other like "what the hell?" And Mr. Shuester is pretty sure if they give her a little more time, she'd stop and they could end the scene._

_"… You'll have beautiful babies and a nice house. Me and your dad would come visit on the weekends and we'll just have fun with our grand children…"_

_"I'm only seven, mom!"_

_"I know you are now, but in the future when you're ready to engage in sexual intercourse…" Okay, that would be a "NO."_

_"Curtains!" The curtains slowly start to close._

_"No, Mr. Shue, this was my big break! Uh, I act, I dance, I sing… please please please, I need an agent! My talent is being wasted here with these amateurs! NO! WHY? Just another second…" Quinn and Santana have already made their way backstage, leaving Rachel to fight off the curtains by herself._

_She pushed and pulled, kicked and screamed, but was unable to avoid being engulfed by the curtains. "Call my daddies if you're interested!"_

_And the audience is very… confused… well, except for one person. "Holy shit! That girl is a little loca en la cabeza, if you know what I'm sayin'!" Oh, Mrs. Lopez. She leaned over to whisper in her husband's ear. "No more play dates with little Ms. Psycho." He nodded._

_/_

_Act I, Scenes IV + V._

_Kurt, Blaine, and Artie enter into the party scene. They cautiously look around for any signs of Finn._

_"Roman, it's okay. There are lots of people here, we won't get caught. Even if we do, we can run to your house really quick, it's just across the street." Kurt rests a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder._

_"Yeah, I know, Marty. I'm just kind of nervous to see Rose."_

_"Hey, we're not here to see Rose, we're here for you to see that we're too young for love! Girls are pretty, but still."_

_"Yeah, I…" It was then that Santana walks in holding hands with Quinn. They look around, settling on talking to the random partygoers in front of them. "Who is she?"_

_"Who?"_

_He points to Santana. "The girl with the brown hair, the one holding hands with the blonde girl."_

_The two boys look in the direction that Blaine points in. "Ohhh… that's Julie Capulet."_

_"Why don't I know her?" His eyes never left the beauty in front of him._

_"She's not in our class. I only know her 'cause of Nancy."_

_Blaine slowly makes his way towards her, his feet moving on their own accord. "Hey, what about Rose?"_

_"Who?"_

_Kurt and Artie share a grin. "No one."_

_Quinn sees Blaine starting to get closer to them. This was it; the moment… she just knew it. Originally, Blaine was just going to kiss Santana's hand, but this had to be the kiss Blaine was talking about. Holy hell! What was she going to do now? She looked down at her hand to find her drink that she had taken from backstage. Huh…_

_Right when he stood in front of them, she did the only thing she could do… throw her drink him. What? She acted on instinct. "Oh my god, I am so sorry." Santana looked over at her questionably._

_"It's okay, it's just water…" Blaine bundled up the bottom of his shirt and squeezed out the small amount of liquid. "…I came over here 'cause I thought you were really pretty."_

_Quinn leaned into Santana, whispering her line to her. "He's a Montegue, your mom and dad don't like the Montegues." Santana pretended as if she had not heard the comment, letting go of her best friend's hand to walk with Blaine._

_"Yeah, so… I… maybe we could play at school sometime? You know, if you want to because you don't have to if you don't want to… it's just I'd like you to. So…"_

_Santana smiled warmly. "Yeah, I want to. We could even share our juice and cookies." At those words, Blaine's eyes lit up. Awww._

_"That'd be awesome! Uh, so you know what pilgrims would do when they'd hold hands and stuff?" Blaine took her hand._

_"No, what?"_

_"I heard they'd kiss." And it has finally come, the instant when Blaine was going to ruin the rest of Quinn's life. Still, this was Quinn "badass" Fabray and she wasn't going down without a fight… quite literally._

_Just about when their lips were about to connect, Quinn pounced on Blaine's back, causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground. After the initial shock had worn away, Blaine flipped onto his back, Quinn now straddling his hips._

_"Quinn, what are you doing?" His words fell on deaf ears as she proceeded to punch him in the face and chest repeatedly. He threw his arms up to protect himself, blocking the bulk of her hits._

_"Quinn, stop it!" Santana held her back as much as she could, but the beating continued._

_The auditorium was abuzz with commotion. Some sat back, thinking this was part of the play. Others jumped on stage, trying to pull the children apart. Most just yelled in outrage._

_"What is wrong with that little girl? She's a devil child!" Mrs. Fabray saw red. She shot out of her chair and ran down the aisle towards the loudmouth insulting her daughter. She launched herself at him, knocking him into the entrance of the auditorium. "What did you say about MY DAUGHTER?"_

_"I SAID, 'SHE'S A DEVIL CHILD!' What of it?" Oh no, wrong move, bucko! Mrs. Fabray reenacted her daughter's wonderful stage performance._

_"Oh my fuckin' god, this is so messed up, but I'm lovin' this shit! Holy hell, nice shot, Fabray!" Mrs. Lopez was out in the aisle not far from the fight._

_"That's my husband she's beating up!"_

_Mrs. Lopez gave her a smug look. "Fucker deserved it!"_

_"You slut!" The woman tried to punch at her, but she was too quick and dodged it. Too bad she wasn't quick enough to dodge the next one. The woman got her right in the face._

_Mrs. Lopez didn't budge from her spot, only looked at the woman with a crazy look in her eye as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "You punch like a bitch!" The woman didn't get a chance to respond, the next thing she knew she was being tackled to the ground, punched in the face, and cursed at in Spanish._

_Fights broke out all throughout the auditorium; on stage, in the aisles… it was freakin' crazy sauce!_

_/_

_Everyone was at the ice cream parlor; beat from the night's events. Most of the kids and their families were happily sharing a couple scoops, while talking about anything but what happened in the auditorium. Others were not._

_Mrs. Lopez and Fabray were leaning against one another for support at the table in the far corner of the room. They were bruised and in pain, but they still wore smug grins at the thought of how well they got that couple._

_"Everything hurts."_

_"No pain, no gain, baby. Try this." Mrs. Lopez gently put the side of her cold, iced beverage to her companion's black eye._

_"Yeah, but it still hurts like hell." Mrs. Fabray took the drink from her hands, applying it to her wound herself._

_"It could've been worse, if I didn't take that punch for you, you'd have your black eye and my busted lip."_

_"Yeah, thanks for that."_

_"Hey, that's what I do. I got your back…The next time it happens though, I'll just push my husband in front of you; his face could use a little work…" Mrs. Fabray tried to chuckle, but it came out in soft groans._

_"Don't make me laugh, that guy got me good in the stomach."_

_It was quiet for a moment as the two women looked across the parlor at their children sitting across from Blaine. Quinn sat with her arms crossed, a scowl plastered on her face as she looked over the table at Blaine. Blaine felt uncomfortable under the intense stare; he cast his eyes downward toward his shoes. Santana alternated from looking at the huge bruise that lay on Blaine's right cheek to Quinn's soft features turned hard._

_"Do you think that they'll talk it out?"_

_"They have to; I'm not going to deal with this right now. I'm just so freakin' tired."_

_"Same."_

_/_

_It was Santana that broke the silence. She's had enough. "Quinn, you have to say you're sorry to Blaine." Quinn remained unfazed, she was still as stone._

_"Quinn, I'm talking to you! Tell Blaine that you're sorry, right now!"_

_Quinn turned to face her best friend."No!"_

_"At least tell us why you hit him!"_

_"She doesn't have to, San. I'm okay, really."_

_Santana looked to Blaine with concern. "No you're not, Blaine! Look at your face, you have a huge bruise!"_

_She turned back to Quinn. "Lucy Quinn Fabray!" Their mothers in the corner gasped at Santana's use of Quinn's full name, they knew shit was going to go down! This was Santana getting serious._

_When she heard those three words come from Santana, Quinn was scared. She didn't think, she just ran. As she sprinted out the door, Mrs. Fabray stood to go get her, but was pulled back down by her companion._

_"I have to go get her, it's dark out there."_

_"She won't go far, Fabray. Besides she's scarier than anything out there, you've seen for yourself…" Santana gave Blaine a sorry look before running after her friend. "…And see, Santana's going to get her, she'll be fine."_

_As Santana made it outside, she was met with darkness. She looked left and right, no sign of Quinn. She didn't know what to do besides run aimlessly around town to find the blonde._

_But as she prepared herself, she heard a noise. She looked up and right in front of her, clinging onto a lamppost from across the street, was Quinn. She jogged over to her, making her presence known._

_"Quinn." Her hand rested on Quinn's shoulder for a second before being shrugged off._

_"Come on, Quinn. I'm sorry I got mad at you, okay?" Quinn's whole body leaned on the lamppost as her arms wrapped around it; her face curling inward towards it, so Santana couldn't see her tears. She hated that she cried every single time, but that's what the thought of losing Santana did to her._

_"Quinn, we're old enough to talk and not have you crying. Just tell me what happened." Quinn mumbled her story._

_"I can't hear you, Quinn."_

_"I didn't want you to kiss him on the lips, okay?" She tore away from the lamppost only to find Santana's awaiting arms to support her. They stood there hugging for what seemed like an eternity._

_She sobbed into Santana's shoulder, talking through her tears. "I don't understand it, but whenever you're with him, it makes me feel bad inside. And when he was going to take your first kiss away, I just lost it! I'm sorry… I'm… I'm sorry I feel this way about you." Santana waited for the shaking and tears to subside, gently rubbing Quinn's back with one hand and occasionally smoothing her hair with the other._

_When Quinn finally did calm down, Santana held her out at arm's length, with her eyes shut. Quinn looked at her in uncertainty. But it became all too clear when Santana pulled Quinn's body to her, causing their lips to collide. It wasn't a long kiss, it was barely a kiss at all, but Quinn enjoyed every second of it. It was just so pure and innocent, like all first kisses should be._

_And when their lips disconnected, Quinn's eyes opened to meet Santana's still closed ones. Slowly though, they began to open to meet an expectant gaze. "That was… new."_

_"A good kind of new?"_

_"I guess it was nice… I don't know, Quinn, this all so weird and confusing for me." Quinn seemed hurt by this; she turned away from Santana, but was directed back towards her by Santana's hold on her face._

_"Hey, look at me, Q." Their eyes connect. "I love you, okay? You've been my best friend since forever and I never want to lose you. But I'm just seven; I don't know what love-love is yet."_

_"Okay."_

_"I'll tell you when I find out though." She smiles._

_"Okay." And it's returned._

_"For now though, can you not kill Blaine?" A nod. "And say sorry when we go back in there?" A long pause… then a slight nod. "Okay then, let's go." Santana held out her hand for Quinn to take, moments later it is enveloped by two hands that she knows all too well._

_"Oh, yeah, don't think I don't know you kiss me at night whenever I sleep over."_

* * *

><p>Sorry for the long wait, guys, I've been busy lazy. I'm still ending the story next chapter, but I'm starting a story like this but Santana centric this time, soon-ish! Anyways, thanks for all the lovin'.


	5. Chapter 5

April 30, 1996.

Hey. Yeah, it's Lucy Quinn Fabray's birthday again. Yeah, she's turning ten. Whoopty freakin' doo! She made it through another two years of life, so what? Oh, you're still alive, congrats! Here's a medal! Don't even say it, your minds equal read. For god's sake, she's turning ten, the big "one oh." Where's the energy? Where's the excitement? The answer? Not here. All hope is lost. I have no will to survive. I'm curled up in a ball, weeping in a darkened corner of my room. Quinn and Santana will never happen… You see what this has done to me? I just used first person, I never use first person! My heart just hurts.

It's been two years since their kiss, two long and agonizing years for Quinn. Things have changed kind of, like things are the same in a sense, but feel different, you know? Does that make sense? Quinn would describe it like standing on an escalator. No, I don't mean "running in place," that's not what Quinn's feeling. She doesn't feel like she's trying to move forward, but time's keeping her hostage. She feels like she's desperately trying to stay in one place and hold onto everything she knows… to hold onto Santana, but the world's moving all around her and she can't do anything to stop it. Powerless. You could say she's powerless to change. Scared. You could even say she's scared of it. Fear of the unknown. Endless possibilities float around in her mind, possibilities of the upcoming years.

The thing is, yeah, she's Santana's best friend now, but what about later? Middle school, man, it's coming up. She already has to compete with people and realities in the present, but in the future there'll be new kids, new experiences, new everything… Who knows, maybe Santana will finally realize Quinn's a clingy, little nuisance and kick her sweet ass to the curb. Knock on wood. Fingers crossed.

Well, there's one birthday left and anything can happen, so wipe those tears and pray to the Quinntana gods to have mercy on your shipping souls! Side note, the Quinntana gods are pleased by nice comments, so… just a thought. But I digress.

Anyways, today everyone is spending the day at their local church's annual fair for Quinn's birthday. It should be fun if you don't, you know, get little kids, greasy foods, and big rides all in one place. Oh wait, is that the definition of a fair? Huh, weird, it's almost as if someone is trying to sabotage this special day by putting these kids into easily catastrophic scenarios. But then again, it is Quinn Fabray's birthday; she does have a tendency to have a bad time on her birthday. Oh well, let the games begin.

The men were leaning against the back wall of the church, chugging down beers and bitching about some big sports game they were missing. Boo-hoo, cry me a river! I mean, it's a nice day and you're spending it with your wife and kids at the fair, what's so bad about that? But then you'd rather be sitting at home with your _heterosexual_ male companions while watching big, strong men sweating and panting… and occasionally patting each other on the ass? Hey, Lima kids, do you know how to spell 'daddy'? Ding. Ding. Ding. That is correct, _G-A-Y_.

"Why hello, boys." All the fathers stood up straight and proceeded to casually drop their beer cans behind them as the church's elderly minister presented himself.

"Hello, Pastor John." The men spoke in unison.

"Are you having a good time, boys? How are you enjoying the festivities?" He smiled at the men, gripping the ones closest to him by their shoulders in a friendly manner.

"We're enjoying them very much, Pastor John. How about yourself?" They're so in sync, it's almost robotic.

"Well boys, to be honest, this fair blows! That is the correct terminology in this circumstance, correct? " Huh? Wait. Hold up. What?

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love a good family outing, but I've been to this fair every year for the past forty years. Trust me, nothing ever changes. On top of that, today just isn't my day, my arthritis is acting up and I can't digest most of this fair food. Oh, and that little Brittany S. Pierce, God bless her heart, has been following me around all day, asking me if God has a unicorn, what the name of the unicorn is, and when the unicorn has kittens, if she could have one. I tried to explain to the poor girl that unicorns don't exist and if they did, then they would have baby unicorns not kittens, but none of it was sinking in. I'm afraid I ended up lying to her, boys. I told her some ridiculous story in which God has a male unicorn named Steven, who unfortunately cannot produce kitten offspring because of his lack of a mate..." Mr. Pierce looked at the minister apologetically. "…I'm so tired, boys, I'd much rather be home right now with a big bowl of chips and some strong ginger ale, watching the game."

"Um, Pastor John, it occurs to me that you have a television in the recreation room… in the church… right behind this very wall, in fact." Oh Lopez, you genius, you!

"Why yes, that is true." He was totally catching Lopez' drift. "In fact, I was just about to-"

"Why yes, Pastor, thank you for the offer. We'd love to join you." Lucky bastards!

/

The women were watching their kids as usual. It was a little more difficult this time though because of the large crowds of fairgoers and the sugar high their little monsters were on... Too bad the two Lopez women weren't there to experience this unique kind of mind-numbing _joy_. Yeah, they hadn't come yet, strange huh? An hour or two ago, the Fabrays were at the front gates of the church's parking lot waiting for Quinn's party guests and their accompanying parents to arrive. Slowly their group started to grow as more and more families facilitated into the fair, though with each new arrival, Quinn would be a little more disappointed to see that it wasn't who she hoped it'd be. It broke Judith's heart to see her little baby girl's face light up as larger groups entered, but eventually fall as she scanned their faces to find that none were Santana. Just when all hope was lost, Mr. Lopez arrived. There is a God! Halle-freakin'-lujah!

Quinn practically mauled the poor man over before he even set foot on church grounds. Eyes like a hawk, that one.

"Hi, Mr. Lopez, thank you for coming to my party. Where is Santana?" She said that all in one breath, you impressed?

"Hello there, Quinn. You just came out of nowhere, didn't you? Mighty quick, you are." He patted her on the head. "Thank you for inviting me, sweetheart."

"You're welcome. Where's Santana?"

"Well, you see…" The man's starting to sweat.

By then, Judith had caught up to her daughter. Her eyes locked instantly with her friend's as a silent conversation began between the two adults. She raised a signature Fabray brow, he shrugged his shoulders. She mouthed, 'Where are they?' He mouthed back, 'They need more time.' Well, shit, this wasn't part of the plan.

"Oh, you mean, Santana… my daughter, Santana, the one that I live with and care for and love with my entire heart. Your best friend, Santana… Santana Lopez… …Yeah, I don't know where she is." Idiot. Mrs. Fabray is face-palming.

"San isn't with you?" Quinn is pouting, a most heartbreaking sight to see.

"I'm sorry, Quinn… Silly me, I must have… forgotten to bring Santana and Mrs. Lopez because I was so excited for your birthday party, I just rushed over as fast as I could. I'll go and get them now. Be back in a little bit." Mr. Lopez waved the two goodbye and started to jog out the entrance and back to his car. Once in his car, he just sat… and waited for the okay. Maybe he'll sneak out a little later and find the guys.

Quinn had visibly deflated. She was dejected at best. Aww, so sad.

"Well, it looks like mostly everyone is here. Why don't you guys go on without us, Quinn and I will wait for them."

"Are you sure? We could wait with you; I bet the kids wouldn't mind."

Judith looked down at her daughter to find her sullen eyes still fixated on the front gates and a deep frown placed upon her lips. And every so often, the little girl would subconsciously reach up to touch her green hair bow as if to remind her of her missing love. "No, it's fine. Quinn won't have any fun until Santana gets here and I wouldn't want the other kids to suffer along with her. You guys go ahead, have a little extra fun for the two of us." With a reassuring smile, she waved off the group and watched them disperse into the fair's many activities.

/

"Quinn! Quinn!" Santana tried to get her friend's attention with the call of her name and a one handed wave as she jumped up and down to see over the crowd of people. The little spectacle was quite unnecessary though because Quinn had seen Santana and her mother before they even passed the church gates.

Quinn ran up to her love and their bodies collided, her arms hugging tightly around Santana's neck and Santana's lone arm loosely around her waist. "San…" She inhaled Santana's familiar scent, causing her to nuzzle herself even further into Santana's warmth.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Quinn."

"It's okay, San. You're here now, so I'm happy."

"Well, happy birthday, birthday girl! Did you wait long?"

"No, not that long, ten minutes tops."

Judith snickered at that. Ten minutes, her ass! We're talking hours here, hours of watching her little girl sad and depressed on her birthday! Hours of pure torture vanished in mere seconds at the touch of a little, nine year old girl! Judith will never understand this crazy, messed up world she lives in, a world that yours truly created.

"Hey, have you gone on any rides yet?"

"No."

"What?" She pushed Quinn slightly at the waist so they could speak face to face. "It's your birthday and you waited for me instead of going on rides with everybody else? You're so silly, Quinn."

"Well, I wasn't going to have fun without you. I never have fun without you… I love you, San."

Santana quickly brushed off the intimate statement. "Yeah, me too… Come on, let's go ride rides and eat until we puke!"

Quinn only nodded in agreement. Seriously, the girl would walk off the side of the earth if Santana were leading the way.

"Mama, podemos ir, por favor?" Oh hey, look, their mothers were standing right there, Quinn didn't even notice.

"Si, Santanita. iPasalo muy bien!" Maribel handed Santana some cash and the ride tickets that she had just taken from Judith's back pocket.

Quinn didn't even ask her mom if she could leave, she just walked away in a love-induced daze, following the heavenly sight and scent that was Santana Lopez. They left their mothers independently but slowly gravitated towards one another until Quinn took Santana's right hand between both of her own and continued walking with her body leaning ever-so-slightly against her love's.

When the girls were out of earshot, Judith unleashed her wrath! "What the hell, man! You said it was going to only be ten minutes!" Yeah… she isn't good at wrath.

"You know how these things are, it takes time setting up. It doesn't help that my daughter is like crazy OCD when it comes to pleasing your daughter. She needs to take a chill pill because if things go well for the two of them, I can't be working with that bag of nuts on surprises all the time."

"You just called your kid a 'bag of nuts,' you do realize that, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do. She gets it from my side, nothing to be ashamed of. It's just when you get two of us in a room, bad things happen… Anyways, here are your keys and sorry we took so long." Maribel dangled the keys in front of her companion's face, giving her her best "please, forgive me" smile.

Judith grabbed her keys and threw them into her purse. "Whatever. Quinn's happy now so I don't care anymore."

"Good. Now, let's go get a churro and spy on/ follow our little, lovesick puppies on their date." She interlocked their arms.

"After you, my lady."

"Oh, you Fabray women, you really know how to sweep a girl off her feet." Mrs. Lopez gives a little gasp, some eye fluttering, and a hand over her heart just because she has a flair for the dramatic.

/

"So… what's that?" Quinn nodded her head towards the rectangular box underneath Santana's left arm, which has been pinned to her side since she got to the fair.

"Oh, this? Are you talking about this gift wrapped box that I brought to your birthday party? It's nothing, definitely not a present for you." Sarcasm, you gots to love it.

"_Sannn_, don't make fun of me!" Whiny, pouty Quinn is just adorable.

"_Whhhhat?_ You mean, you think this is for _you?_ That's crazy, Quinn."

"Santana." Quinn's stern voice is still adorable.

"Okay, okay I give. Of course it's your present, Quinn."

"Why such a big box for such a small bow, huh? Pretty strange."

"Well, maybe it's not a bow this year."

"It's always a bow, San. What color is it this year? Red? You know I need red."

"Not red, not any color actually. I really didn't get you a bow this year; thought I'd change things up a bit, keep you guessing."

"But,_ Sannn_, I love the bows you give me and I hate change!" Quinn held onto Santana's arm a bit tighter and shook herself side to side in a childish fashion.

"Change is good, believe me. Plus, I know you're going to love your present, I'd never get you something you don't like."

"Fine, can I have my present now, please?"

"Nope."

"Come on, San. _Please?_"

"Nope, I'll give it to you later, after I walk you home. You'll need it by then."

Hey, have you ever wondered what it'd be like to be in Quinn's mind? Yeah, you're right… there'd be like "I HEART BLAINE!" posters everywhere and a little "SANTANA SUCKS" one in a corner somewhere… No, I'm just kidding, guys. Don't laugh, it's not even that funny. We shouldn't even be joking about this because I write Quinn's character so I'm like her and she's like me and me knows so she knows and she'll kill me, so... no more her and no more mini!quinntana. Wow. Mind fucked. No more jokes, ever. Anyways, Quinn is actually just like everyone else, she focuses on many subjects, so her mind divides itself into a section for each based on how long it occupies her thoughts. That means there is a section for Santana, mom and dad, Santana, school work, Santana, frenemies, Santana, hating Blaine, and Santana, Santana, Santana… SANTANA.

Right now, though, Quinn's mind is pretty much blank. Mostly, there are just a few things that keep replaying through it. One: Santana. Two: Santana walking her home. Three: Santana and her are totally on a date right now. Four: Blaine. Kidding again, I just left out a few words from the original thought. Four: Suck it, Blaine. Victory is Quinn's!

"Okay, whatever you say, San." Whipped.

"So, rides first. You want to find everyone else or go just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us, please."

"Sure, Quinn, anything for you." Gag.

/

"God, Jude, why is your kid so freakin' boring? This is like the sixth freakin' time they've been in there! I mean, yeah, I know that there is a limited selection of things they can do at this fair because of their age, but come on; it's a freakin' mirror house! Goddamn mirrors are not that fun!" Maribel continued to eat a churro and complain as she lazily paces back and forth a short distance away from the house of mirrors, where Quinn and Santana had just entered for yet again.

"Okay, first of all, how do you know that it was Quinn's idea to keep going in there? And secondly, you're one to talk, that's like your sixth freakin' churro!"

Maribel stopped her pacing and looked at Judith for a second before clearing her throat. As she replied, she suppressed her light Hispanic accent and spoke in the "whitest" way possible to mock her companion. "Okay, _first of all_, I know Quinn is behind the tedious repetition of this activity because my daughter isn't boring as shit. And secondly, the churro is the food of my people, I can eat as many as I want if I so choose!"

"Okay, first of all, all kids are boring as shit because they are children, they can't drink or do crazy shit like we do. And secondly, you _can_ eat as many churros you want, but that doesn't make it the food of your people. _A_ food of your people: yes. _The_ food of your people: no. Oh, and thirdly, don't do that voice thing, it's unsettling!"

"Okay, first of all, I will agree with you; all kids are boring as shit. And secondly, I didn't mean churros were the food of the Hispanic peoples, I meant that they're the Lopez' choice of food. Seriously, we freakin' inhale that shit in our house. And thirdly, yes, I will stop speaking like this because I sound stupid right now but only if we both stop counting our freakin' sentences!"

The two now stood side by side, looking at the house of mirrors as they spoke to one another. "Fine. Okay. Deal. Shut up."

"Sure. Yeah. Great. I like it that way."

Silence.

"Love you."

"… Love you, too."

So, have you figured out why Quinn likes it in the house of mirrors so much? Really? Not yet? And you call yourself a fan of this story…That is truly disappointing.

Santana ran through the maze of mirrors with little difficulty, having memorized it after her third visit. Before then, she was barely inching her way through with her free hand outstretched in front of her to prevent hitting herself face first against hard glass. Quinn, however, walked slowly behind her love not unlike every other time she entered the nearly vacant house of mirrors. There was just something about it she enjoyed immensely.

"Quinn, come on, you're always so slow! I'm carrying a box and I'm faster than you!" Santana shouted back to Quinn from about fifteen feet ahead, it was hard to tell considering all the twists and turns the maze had to offer.

"I don't want to hit my face, San! It's not my fault you have such a good memory!" Yep, you be playin' those cards right, Quinn. That's my girl.

Santana made her way back to Quinn and interlocked their arms. She smiled at the blonde before proceeding forward. "Okay then, we'll walk through together, real slow just the way you like it." Now you see why Quinn loves this place so much? I mean, she's practically alone in a room full of two dimensional replicas of her dream girl from every angle possible and the original beauty on her arm; this is definitely the closest our little Christian has gotten to heaven.

"So, where do you want to go next?"

Quinn gives her a look like, "you know where," to which Santana makes a face of distaste, quickly followed by a forced smile. "Okay." It's like they're married, Santana's already doing shit she doesn't want to do! She best be getting some though… Hugs, people, I'm talking about hugs! You all are nasty, I knew what you were thinking…

/

Finally, after what seemed like hours, at least to Santana, the two mutually decided they needed a break from "The Place That Must Not Be Named." So they headed to the food stalls and game tents area to take a much needed mental break… from boredom… at least for Santana… again.

"iAy dios mio, finalmente puedo ver la luz del sol y las caras de otras personas!" Santana was just so happy to get out of that mirrored hell box.

"Santanita, crees que soy fea?" Yeah, you didn't know that Quinn's been learning Spanish did you? It is her love's native tongue after all, plus it totally gives her brownie points with her future in-laws. And can we talk about how cute a little, white girl speaking Spanish is?

"Ay no, mi amor, perdoname. Tu eres muy muy guapa. Eres tan guapa como… las estrellas en el cielo."

"San, I only got little bits of what you just said, I'm not that good yet. Can you say it again, but in English?"

Judging by the light shade of pink adorning Quinn's cheeks, she understood exactly what Santana had said, but just wanted to hear it _again_. That was okay with Santana though, anything to please Quinn… but first a little teasing. "Are you sure? I thought you were up to my level already. I bet you understood all of that."

Quinn shook her head, no.

"Well then, I said, 'No, my love, forgive me. You are very very beautiful. You are as beautiful as the stars in the sky." And everyone is swooning at the suaveness that is Santana Lopez…

You wouldn't think it'd be better the second time around, but yes, it definitely is. You can tell by the now deep shade of red occupying Quinn's cheeks as the words left her love's lips and the smile on her own lips as she shyly looked away as she spoke. "I guess I can forgive you then… just this once."

"I'm glad… Now, what do you feel like eating? Are you like super hungry or just in a snacking mood?"

"I don't know… Why don't we just walk around and get whatever looks good."

"Good plan." As they walk through rows and rows of food stalls, not much stood out, which is surprising because most of it was junk food and these two are kids. I guess their love keeps them full… or they're just not that hungry yet.

"So, anything look good to you, Quinn?"

"Not really… Oh look, churros, you like churros, don't you?"

"No, not really. You heard that from my mom, didn't you? I think she likes to tell people that me and my dad like churros. I guess it's because she eats them so much when she comes to places like this that she wants people to think it's a family thing, not just her." Ha… and the truth finally comes out. Someone go tell Judith!

"Huh, that's interesting. No churros, then?"

"Nope… Hey, they have corndogs. You like corndogs, right? Aren't they your favorite?" Aww, she remembered. That's sweet.

"Yeah… Oh look, they have mac and cheese, too. You want a side of mac and cheese with your corndog?"

"That sounds good to me. Why don't I go get us some of that good stuff and you go grab a table, 'kay?"

"'Kay. Thanks, San." Quinn walked over to the covered eating area and looked around for an empty table for her and Santana to eat at. As she scanned the tables, she found most of her "friends" sitting at a table next to a table occupied by the adults. She ducked down slightly in hopes that she would spot a table before they could spot her.

"Hey, Quinn! Hey!" "Quinn!" "Quinn, over here!" "Come sit with us, Quinn!" Shit. Okay, it's not that bad, she hasn't made eye contact yet, so if she doesn't look over at them, she can pretend she didn't hear them. It'd be pretty hard not to hear them though, the eating area was uncharacteristically quiet…lucky her! Be cool, Quinn, be cool. Yeah, that's it, keep on walking around looking for that table and ignore all those screaming kids. Hey, here's some motivation for you: alone time with Santana. Alone time with Santana. Alone time with Santana.

"Hey, I got our food… You couldn't get a table?" Santana walked over holding a tray with their two plates and two accompanying bottles of water with little difficulty, considering she still had that box tucked underneath her left arm.

"No, I was-"

"Santana!" "Santana, we're over here!" "Quinn couldn't hear us!" "Come sit with us, Santana!"

"Look, everyone's over there." She used her elbow to point in their general direction before heading over there herself. "Come on, Quinn, let's go sit with them." Great…

"Hey, guys!" There is a round of hellos exchanged by all the children sitting at the table, who made room for their two nomadic friends.

"So where have you two, crazy kids been? You've missed out on all the fair time festivities, which is unfortunate considering we have joined on this day to specifically celebrate Quinn's tenth anniversary of birth." Oh Rachel Berry, sweet sweet Rachel Berry… you truly get more loathsome with each passing year, with all your big words… you know, big by little kid standards, and your long, run-on sentences.

"Yeah, San, I missed you lots. Why did you come so late? Why didn't you come find us? You weren't there to hold me through all the scary rides… Artie was there to hold me, but mostly 'cause he was more scared than me…" Brittany leaned in from her seat to the left of Santana and her box to whisper in her ear. "… I think I know why he wears his gloves all the time now, his hands sweat lots. He got all his yucky boy sweat all over me!" Yeah, Brittany, that's why he wears gloves, not because he has to wheel himself around or anything.

"Aww, I'm sorry I wasn't there to hold you, Britt. I just had to do something with my mom this morning, that's why I was late. Then when I got here, me and Quinn went on some rides but mostly we stayed in the house of mirrors for a long time…" She gave Quinn a pointed look.

"It's okay, San, we can spend time together after we eat, 'kay? Then I'll tell you all about my new kitty cat, Lord or Lady Tubbington! He or she's the cutest!"

"Hey, Britt, how come you don't know if your cat's a guy or a girl yet?"

"Umm, I wasn't listening to the Mr. Pet Shop Man when he was talking about Lord or Lady Tubbington, so I missed him tell me if it's a guy or a girl. When I brought Lord or Lady Tubbington home, though, I tried to check its private parts but there was so much fur and fat that I couldn't see… I'll ask mommy and daddy later, I bet they were paying attention."

"That's nice, Britt. Anything else we missed today?"

"Why, yes, you actually missed out on quite a bit today. Let me see… Oh, Noah and Lauren decided to participate in a hot dog eating contest that no one else entered, in which Lauren was the victor. And then Noah thought it would be a good idea to challenge her to see who could ride on that ride that sends you flying in the air on your stomach the most times without throwing up. I'd say they both lost that one, their parents had to take them home due to their excessive vomiting."

"Yeah and when we were on the Ferris wheel, Brittany ran from side to side, rocking the cart back and forth real hard and we got stuck. The guy that came to fix it told us that it wasn't her fault, but we're pretty sure she broke it. It wasn't that bad… actually we were having a lot of fun being so high in the sky for a little bit. Some of the girls and Kurt were a little scared, though."

"I was not scared, Artie. I was just in the group cuddle with all the girls to help keep them safe and make them feel better. I was being a good friend." Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and pouted… in a completely masculine way, of course.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Kurt… We went over to the petting zoo and that was totally cool. The goats tried to eat everything, I went over to pet one and it was nice until it tried to eat my hair. The lady said it was probably because my hair looks like hay…" And your mouth looks like a black hole, Sam. What's your point?

"I liked the petting zoo lots, San. It was so fun, there were so many duckies. I was like chasing them around and they were like quacking… so fun. I even got to hold one; Blaine gave him to me and told me the trick was not to run after them, 'cause they get scared. I tried not to, I really did, but there were just so many and they were so yellow and cute. I couldn't help myself, San!"

"It's okay, Britt. I'm glad you had a good time…" At the mention of her suitor, Santana subconsciously looked around the table to locate him, having realized she didn't exactly see or hear him when she first got to the table. Her search quickly came to an end when she spotted him sitting on the other side of the table in the right-hand corner. She had expected his eyes to find hers when she looked at him, but he was too busy concentrating all his energy in keeping eye contact with Quinn of all people. It seems that all this time while the rest of the kids were talking spiritedly, Blaine and Quinn were silently watching one another. It's been… strange, these past two years. In a sense, this situation between them has gotten better because Quinn hasn't verbally or physically assaulted Blaine since being told by Santana not to. Though, now Blaine has become aware of Quinn's feelings for Santana which rival his own feelings for the brunette, making for heavy tension between the two.

Santana lightly nudged Quinn with her shoulder, breaking her out of her spell. They shared a brief smile before Santana wordlessly took Quinn's hand in hers; squeezing it slightly to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. Their fingers remained interlaced underneath the table for the remainder of their meal.

"So, what do you guys want to do now? We could go play at the game booths if you're up for it." Everyone agreed with the suggestion and set off into the network of game booths in small groups accompanied by their parents who leisurely walked a safe distance behind the children.

"Santana, hey." Blaine approached Santana cautiously, seeing as Quinn was right by her side as always.

"Hey! I didn't get to talk to you much today; you were sitting in the corner being all shy and whatnot."

"Yeah, I guess I was a little… tired today. Anyways, we could fix that now. I thought that we could hang out together. I could win you a stuffed animal." He gives her his most charming smile.

"That sounds awesome and I would love to hang out with you…" He's smiling the brightest he ever has. "… But today is Quinn's day and I was just about to win her something. So, maybe some other time, 'kay?" It's amazing how such an extraordinary smile could be stricken from his face so quickly and by so few words from a crush's lips.

"Uh, yeah… Yeah, that's cool. I guess I'll just go and… catch up with Sam and Kurt, see what they're up to. I'll talk to you later then." He hurried off so quickly, she didn't even get a chance to reply to him.

Quinn and Santana remained still, frozen in place, looking off in the direction in which Blaine had disappeared. There is a silence between the two, a moment in which they use to allow what had just happened to sink in. This is how it ends. Quinn had finally won and both… no, all three, have realized this. You'd think Quinn would scream from the highest rooftops about how she was the victor and how after years of struggle, Santana's heart was finally and rightfully in her possession, but she didn't. She just remained quiet until Santana had enough time to have processed and felt the repercussions of her actions. It was a bittersweet victory really because despite the fact that they had been love rivals, Quinn believed Blaine to be a good guy. And had she been in his position, she would feel a tremendous loss and a hole where her heart should be, something that no one should rejoice in.

"You okay?" Quinn gripped her love's shoulder affectionately.

"Huh?… uh, yeah." Santana was slightly startled by the touch, but quickly recovered, reassuring Quinn that she was okay with a genuine smile.

"So, are you ready to win me that stuffed animal you promised?"

"Definitely. I'm going to win you something big."

They walked around the game booth area; seemingly looking for a fun game to play, but Santana was really planning out how she was going to come through on her promise. I mean, how can such a little girl win a Quinn sized stuff animal? Well, the answer is simple, she's going to have to cheat and use her unimposing physique to do so. The hard part was deciding which game was easiest to cheat at and which game booth employee was easiest to fool.

"Hey, Sannie! Hey, Quinn! Come watch Finn win Rachel a stuffed unicorn. It's so cute; I wish I could get one."

"You like that, Britt?"

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, San, I like it lots!"

"I'll get it for you, Britt."

"Really? That'd be awesome, Sannie, I'd love you always and forever! But, do you think you can beat Finn?"

Santana put two dollars on the countertop and took a seat next to Finn. In preparation for the game, she handed over her box to Quinn, who eagerly accepted. You better believe Quinn shook the hell out of that thing. Judging by the noise or lack of noise rather, she concluded that the gift was made from fabric. Huh, she could deal with that.

"Sure, Britt, I can beat him easy." Santana sent a smirk Finn's way. "You scared, Hudson?"

"No, not really, Santana. I'm pretty sure I can take you. Right, Rach?" He reached up to stroke one of Rachel's hands that rested on either of his shoulders and looked into her eyes for reassurance.

The girl who stood behind him smiled down at him and responded without hesitation. "That's right, Santana. My Finn is going to win me that stuffed animal to add to my collection. Did you know that he regularly goes off into the woods with his father to hunt? He has never killed anything, of course, but he knows his way around a BB gun." This is significant because the game they are about to play involves shooting water into a clowns mouth, allowing for a balloon to fill with said water. Whosever balloon pops first, wins. Simple enough, she didn't even have to cheat on this one.

"That doesn't matter here, Rachel. This is a water gun, completely different than a BB gun. And I know my way around a water gun, don't I, Quinn?"

"She does. This is true."

"So, may the best… person win."

"Okay, we have enough participants now. Everyone ready… Hands on your guns… One. Two. Three. Go!" A minute goes by… It's sad that she didn't even have real competition. "And we have a winner. Little lady, which prize would you like?"

"The unicorn, please." The stuffed animal rests in Santana's hands for just a second, before she passes it to the girl that's happily jumping up and down beside her.

"Oh my god, I love him so much, Sannie! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" They shared a friendly hug before Brittany scurried off to show all her friends what Santana won her and Santana turned to Finn and Rachel to give her condolences.

"Sorry about that, guys. You know what Brittany wants, Brittany gets. No hard feelings though, right? You'll get it next time, especially with me out of the game."

"Yeah, Santana, it's no big deal. I'll get Rach that unicorn eventually…" Yeah, he's definitely going to get that unicorn… But that's going to be at the end of the night when they're about to close down the fair and he won't leave the booth until the game booth employee feels sorry for him and gives him one on the down low. It's sad what people do for love.

"And I'll get Quinn a giant stuffed animal never if I don't leave now, so see you guys later."

Santana went to take the box back from Quinn as they walked away, but Quinn insisted on holding onto it, bearing in mind that Santana would need her hands free if she still intended on winning a prize. They continued walking around all the booths again until Santana had studied all the games and each employee. The blonde was oblivious as to what Santana was doing, but knew something was up. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was definitely going to be an entertaining thing, considering Santana had stopped at the milk bottles booth. For those of you who don't know, this booth is notorious for being impossible to win, namely because the fair people use heavy, metal bottles that aren't easily knocked over by an average man, let alone a little, nine year old girl.

"Are you sure you want to try this one, San? This one is pretty hard. Why don't we go back to the clown one? I saw a little monkey that was pretty cute."

"I told you I was going to win you something big, Quinn. Trust me, I promised you… You like elephants, right? I'm going to get you that huge one over there." Santana walked up to the booth counter with Quinn close beside her. She waved at the chubby, balding man working the booth, who had been looking for potential people to scam about a foot and a half above the girls' heads. "Hey, mister, I want to play."

"Why, hello there, little girl. You want to play this? Are you sure? It's real hard; I don't think a tiny thing like yourself could knock over all these strong bottles."

"Don't worry, mister. I'm stronger than you look."

He chuckled to himself. Hey, the kid wants to do what the kid wants to do. If she wants to lose her parents' money, let it be. He warned her already, so he's not the bad guy here. You see, he's got remind himself of the few morals he upholds, seeing as he's working in God's parking lot and all. "Okay, short stuff, you got cash? Tw-, no, three dollars a ball. Three ball minimum." Nine dollars came his way, he handed over the balls.

Santana stumbled a little at the massive weight that has just been placed in her arms, but quickly regained her balance and dropped two balls on the counter, leaving one in her hands.

"Don't worry, San. It doesn't matter if you win it for me or not, I don't care." I don't know, that elephant is pretty cute. You better win that shit, Santana!

The game booth guy chuckled again and made his voice higher to imitate Quinn. "Yeah, San, don't worry!"

This only fueled Santana even more, she now didn't feel bad for what she was about to do. First, she nudged Quinn off to the side more so she wouldn't hurt her when she threw the ball. Then, she took a deep breath before backing up a little, swinging her arm and releasing the ball. As it left her hand, it seemed to soar through the sky… until it plopped to the ground a mere foot away from where Santana was standing. That made the game booth guy burst out in a fit of laughter, earning him a glare from Quinn.

"It's okay, San. You still have two more tries, you can do it!"

"Yeah, San, you _can_ do it… if the 'it' she was referring to stood for making me laugh! I haven't laughed like that in a long time, short stuff. You totally get an 'A+' for that."

Santana made a face before grabbing the second ball… Yeah, her second try was worse than the first. She released the ball too early during her back swing and accidentally threw it into someone's drink.

"I'm so sorry, mister!" She apologized to the man whose drink she ruined, over the roar of the fairgoers and the game booth guy's booming laughter.

"It's okay, little girl! I was almost done with it anyways!"

She turned back towards the booth to find the game booth guy still laughing at her. "God, you're making my day, kid! I can't wait to see what you do with this last throw, maybe you'll knock some old geezer out or something!" Santana made no effort to reach for the last ball; she just stood in place and didn't say a word.

"What's the matter, squirt? Don't want to play no more? 'fraid you'll actually hurt somebody?" Santana began to cry, not loudly, but enough for it to be noticeable to the people around her.

Quinn tried to comfort her love by wrapping her arms around her, dropping the box from her hands in the process."It's okay, San, don't cry. I don't care about some stupid stuffed animal. I just like spending time with you."

By this time, the game booth guy was getting a little nervous, people were beginning to stop and stare at the little spectacle. He was so getting fired for making a kid cry. "Listen to the girl, small fry, it's just a stupid game and some stupid stuffed animals! Stop crying!" This only made Santana cry even harder. "Shit! Shit! No, don't do that! Stop!... You know what, okay… how about this. Which stuffed animal did you want?" She sniffled a bit before pointing to the giant elephant. "You want this guy, this elephant right here?" She nodded. "Okay, I'll make you a deal okay? I just replaced these big bad, milk bottles with empty, soda cans. And if you can knock over just one of these cans, you get the elephant, okay? But, no matter what happens, you've got to stop crying, deal?"

This was the best solution in his mind. It really was a win, win, situation because face it; the kid couldn't throw for shit. So, he cuts the kid a break, knowing that she won't knock over the cans… Badda bing, badda boom! He comes out looking all spic and span like a good guy _with_ a job, the kid stops crying, and no one leaves with the relatively pricy stuff animal. Perfect.

Santana's smiles mischievously. "Deal." Something about the way she goes from crying to smiling in such a short time doesn't make sense to him, kids can be like that, but they don't get over things that quickly. It's almost as if she'd been waiting for that deal, almost as if… she wasn't freakin' crying to begin with!

"Hey, you-" In one swift motion, Santana grabs the last ball and heaves it skillfully, knocking over all three empty, soda cans. And now Quinn and the game booth guy's jaws are on the floor…

"I'd like my prize now, please."

"Wow, that was really good, San! I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, believe it, blonde girl. Your little friend here just hustled me." The game booth guy didn't exactly know how he felt about this whole ordeal, considering that he just got conned by a kid that probably weighs less than the elephant he was about to hand over. A part of him wanted to be mad, but she was good, real good. "Here, you go, half pint. Enjoy." He takes the stuffed animal off the top shelf and places it in Santana's arms, causing her to seemingly disappear behind a mass of gray fur.

"Thanks, mister. I'm sorry I did that to you, but I had to win Quinn something big and you were being kind of mean." Santana happily took the prize, literally feeling the "consequences" of her actions in her hands. It felt good.

"Don't apologize, pipsqueak, you got a gift. I can respect that. Just hope my little baby girl grows up to be half as good as you." She gives him a radiant smile, before turning to Quinn and relieving herself of the weight she was carrying.

"Thanks so much, San. I really do love Oswald. I can't wait to show my mom!" She wraps her arms around the elephant, enveloping him in the affectionate hug. Her eyes close momentarily as she nuzzles her face into the crook of its neck.

"You're welcome, Quinn. Happy birthday… Oswald, huh? That was quick."

"I came up with the name before you threw the second ball." Quinn looks down for a second, slightly embarrassed at what she had just admitted. But when she looks up again, Santana's smiling at her, so she smiles back. Their eyes connect for mere moments to the average passerby, but they shared a look that spoke volumes to the both of them.

"… You tired, yet?"

"Yeah, I'm a little tired. I think I'm done for the day… Walk me home?"

"Of course." Santana bent down to retrieve the forgotten box from the ground.

They began to walk off to find their mothers and tell them of their plans of walking home together, but before they got too far, the game booth guy called out to Quinn. "Ey, elephant girl!" She turned her head to face him, a brow raised to question him calling for her. "You stick with short stack, ah-ight? She's gonna do great things in life…" Yeah, because we all know that "great" and "illegal" are interchangeable…

/

"I just don't see it."

"How can you not see it, Jude? Just look harder, all the signs are right in front of your face."

"Signs? What signs? If anything, Quinn has been showing the 'signs' since birth, Santana's birth. She's the one that has been _actively_ _pursuing_ your daughter."

"You call that 'pursuing'? All she does is bitch n' moan whenever Santana's around other people! Then afterwards, Santana comes over like a freakin' knight in shining armor and saves her damsel-in-distress ass! I just… I can't… Are you seriously telling me this, right now? Santana would, without a doubt, be the boyfriend! If there were a 'boy' in this friend-lationship thing they've got going on, which I'm not saying there is a 'boy' and/ or relationship, but if there _were_ a male persona between the our two female daughters in a not-yet-existent relationship, it'd definitely be Santana! My baby girl just totally conned a man for your daughter, characteristic of any good boyfriend."

"Yeah… You dated a lot of criminals before you settled down and got married, didn't you? I could totally see you being into that whole crazy thing. But unlike you, 'deceptive' isn't a trait most people look for in a good mate."

"I wasn't talking about how she tricked the guy for a stuffed animal; I was talking about how she did what needed to be done to ensure the happiness of a loved one. I was talking about her ingenuity, ability to love unconditionally, and blatant disregard for anyone not Quinn."

"Wow. You just made conning a man sound pretty good… You should have been a lawyer."

"I know, huh! I have mad word skills… but all that schooling wasn't for me."

"I can see that… But, back to the subject at hand, why does there have to be a boy in their relationship at all? I mean, they're two girls and I'm okay with that, you know, except for the fact that I'd be somewhat connected to you by law… but I can get over that… eventually… for the sake of my daughter's happiness."

"Ugh, get over yourself, Fabray. And if you must know, there is no immediate reason as to why one of our girls must take on the male role in their relationship. I just want my daughter to be the boy, so your daughter would have to be the girl. Bride's side pays for most of the wedding, you know."

"Really? I always thought that groom's side paid."

"Huh… I don't know, maybe I got it backwards."

"Huh…"

"…Hey, I got it! Let them pay for their own goddamn wedding!" Genius… The best part of the plan? How Maribel said it in such a happy way, like, "Yeah, fuck our kids! Fuck parental responsibilities!"

/

"Well, speak of the little devils. Here they come now." Maribel pointed to their two kids walking towards them, each carrying one end of a giant stuffed animal in their arms. "And look, they brought freshly caught game, courtesy of my baby girl." Judith scoffs, she got the hint.

"You're a lucky girl, sweetie. I can't believe Santana won you such an… enormous gift. Did you thank her properly?"

"Yes, mom."

Now it's time for Maribel to snicker. "Ha, she called you 'mom!' You're totally all up in her business! Gosh, mom, you're so not cool! And, Quinn, saying, 'thank you' isn't proper in a circumstance such as this one; I believe that the proper way to thank her would be a kiss on the cheek?"

Both girls blushed at this, turning away from each other the best they could to hide their embarrassment. "_Mom_, stop it! Don't make Quinn do something she doesn't want to!"

"Ha, you got a 'mom' too! Doesn't feel good, does it?"

"Aww, my baby girl's standing up for _her_ baby girl! So cute! Come on, kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Ki-"

"iAy, Mama, porque delante de Quinn?

"What? I'm telling her to kiss you as a thank you, I'm pretty sure she has to be here for me to do so."

"iPuedo caminar con Quinn a su casa ahora, por favor?"

"Oh, you really want to do this right now, mija? If that's how you want it… iBesala! iBesala! iBesala, Quinn! iUn beso grande por mi Santanita, un beso grande!..." Eventually, Judith even joined in on Maribel's childish antics, both going as far as skipping in a circle around their children as they chanted.

"iAy dios mio, Mama, por favor!" "Mom, why are you so embarrassing?"

The mothers stopped their excessive taunting. "Fine, you guys can go! Killjoys!" Judith took her house keys out of her purse and handed them to Quinn. "Here are the keys. Your father and I will be home shortly. Frannie's at home, sick, so you won't be home alone, but don't bother her unless it's really important. You know your sister; she'll probably be sleeping… Are you going to be staying, Santana?"

Santana shakes her head, much to Quinn's discontent. "No, I don't think so, Mrs. Fabray. I think I'm just going to walk home afterwards, I'm kind of tired."

"Okay, well, I hope you two had a good time today and I'll see you later."

The girls waved goodbye, then headed towards Quinn's home.

"Got your keys, Santanita?"

"Yes!" Santana called back.

"iSantanita, camina lentamente! iQuieres mas tiempo con una nina guapa, no?" Wink wink.

"iMama, sabes que Quinn puede comprender espanol!"

"Yes, I do know that Quinn can understand Spanish! It's so much more fun that way, mija!"

/

"Hey, Maribel, do you think it's okay that we let the girls walk all that way alone? Maybe we should have gone with them; it's getting kind of late… I still feel like they're a little too young, you know?"

"Lighten up, Jude. The sun isn't going to set for at least another hour and your house is just a couple of blocks away. The girls will be safe from all the Lima baddies. No worries." Maribel gripped her companion's shoulder with a tight squeeze for reassurance. "Plus, they're not exactly defenseless, I gave Santana pepper spray."

"Oh, you got Santana pepper spray? That's nice to know. Maybe I'll get some for Quinn too."

"Yeah… I didn't exactly buy the pepper spray." Look away, look away! You've said too much already!

"Then where did you get it?" This isn't new to Judith, she's been friends with Maribel for quite some time now, so things like this don't faze her as much as it used to.

"I made it."

"You made Santana pepper spray? How did you know how to even make pepper spray? And why go through all that trouble in the first place when you could just buy it at the store?"

"Okay, so it's kind of a long story. You see, Santana asked me yesterday if she could walk Quinn home as part of the master plan. I, of course, said, 'yes.' Then, at like ten o'clock at night, I was like, 'Oh wait, Jude is going to be a bitch about letting the kids walk on their own.' So, then I had to find something Santana could use in self-defense to ease your motherly mind. I looked through the house and I found a few things she could use but were quite impractical for a nine year old girl to carry around all willy-nilly… Seriously, the best I could do was a syringe full of febreze."

"A syringe full of febreze?" What's so weird about that?

"I'm just sayin', you inject that shit into your system and it's gonna fuck you up! Anyways, even I thought that was a little crazy, so I emptied my febreze to-go bottle and poured in a watered down version of my super spicy, chili pepper sauce. Bam! Instant pepper spray!" Maribel is all smug now.

"I… okay, you know what? You've convinced me that the kids are safe because the only kook in this town is standing right in front of me. Goodbye." Judith turned around and started walking over to the other mothers.

"Hey, I gots some jalapenos, habaneros, and even some of that Asian Sriracha shit up in there… Ey, ey, don't you be walkin' away from me! Ey, I'm talkin' to you! You better- you better turn that white ass around, I ain't playin' with you! Fabray!" Uh oh, a white woman being tackled by a Hispanic woman in Lima, Ohio? You know someone be goin' to jail.

/

The walk back to Quinn's house, the girls spent in a comfortable silence. They both used the time to reflect, not just on the events of the day, but on everything; every person, place, event that has brought them up to this very moment in time. It's funny how things play out, you know? One minute, you're a jealous, little girl pining after the love and affection of your best friend. Then the next, you're still a jealous, little girl but now you're pretty sure your best friend loves you back… not positive, but that's close enough for you, considering the fact that your only competition just got the brush-off. Life. Is. Strange.

"Hey, did you hear that, Quinn?"

"No, what is it?"

"I don't know. I thought I heard and police car siren. I guess not." Your mom's so not coming home tonight. "So… we're here."

"Huh?" Quinn, who had been lost in thought, looked to her left to find the pathway leading up to her house. "Oh, I didn't realize we were here already. That was really quick."

"Yeah…" Santana nervously stroked her hand across the back of her neck. "You want to put Oswald inside and then come sit out here with me? I don't really want to go home yet and I… kind of have to tell you something. You can open your present first though, 'kay?"

"Sure, San." They walked up to Quinn's front door together, each still holding onto one end of what made up Oswald. Quinn let go though, to open the door, leaving the stuffed animal in Santana's arms only briefly before she swiftly took him back and dragged him into her home, resting him at the bottom of the staircase.

When she returned, she found Santana sitting on her front steps, obviously captivated by the vibrant orange and purples that took over the sky. She took a seat next to her, also taking a moment to watch what would soon be an almost perfect sunset. "Hey."

"Hey." Santana tore her eyes away from the beautiful sight in front of her to smile at the beautiful creature beside her. She stays that way for a while, eyes just staring lovingly into Quinn's, without a word.

"What, San? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You're just beautiful, Quinn. I hope you know that."

"Thank you." A blush makes its way across Quinn's face for what seems like the umpteenth time that day.

"You want to open your gift now?" Santana gestured toward the box that she laid on Quinn's lap.

"Yep, let's do this." Quinn looked down at the box, before starting to open it. If she was to be honest, it had been in the back of her mind all day. She was comfortable with bows, that is what she had grown accustom to, that is what she'd prefer. This, this was new. She didn't necessarily like "new," but after today, she'd give it a chance. New could be good. Anything with Santana was good. New with Santana would be good.

Underneath all the cardboard and decorative paper, she found a light blue-gray cardigan. It was nice. It'd probably match her sundresses quite well. Maybe, she didn't need a bow after all.

"I love it, San. Thanks." She hugged Santana tight.

Santana released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Relief. She didn't know what she'd do if Quinn hadn't approved. "I'm glad." She wrapped her arms around Quinn, now being fully able to return the hug.

"You want to try it on? It's getting kind of cold."

Quinn only gave a nod. Santana took the cardigan from on top of the remains of the opened box, holding it out so her companion, who had turned around slightly, could slip both arms through.

"You're beautiful, Quinn." Santana racked her eyes over Quinn's body, settling on her eyes, those entrancing set of hazel eyes that could rival the hues of the sky.

"San, you're staring again."

"I can't help it. I just love you so much." And there it is.

"You… you what? I don't understand."

Santana smiles. "I love you, Quinn. What's there to understand? You're my best friend and I love you. I love you like you love me."

"Really?" Only her voice cracks, but her whole being seems as if it were about to break.

"Yes, silly, I do love you."

Quinn collapses under an emotional release, ten years in the making. She clings onto her love; hands gripping tightly at the bottom of her jacket and face nuzzling deep into her chest, tears freely falling from her closed eyes. Santana just holds her, holds her like she's never going to let go. So they sit, just like that and watch the sunset in each other's arms.

"It's getting late. I should get home." They pull apart just to come together again in a hug goodbye.

"Bye, San."

"Bye, Quinn… We're better now, okay? Better than before." Santana walks down the pathway, leaving Quinn's eyes to follow her form into the growing darkness. She makes it to the sidewalk before walking straight back to Quinn.

"What happened?"

"I forgot something."

"What'd you forget?

"To give you this." She pulls a red hair bow out of her pocket, getting a bright smile out of Quinn.

"You told me you didn't get me one."

"I lied. Just one more time… for the both of us." Santana takes the green bow out of her love's hair, gazing at it fondly, recalling the day she had given it to Quinn before tucking it into its owner's pocket. They've come so far. She brushes away any stray hairs from that stunning face, before leaving the red bow in her golden locks. It never gets old, this exchange between Quinn and herself.

"Bye, Quinn."

"Bye, San."

Santana doesn't make a move to leave. She just looks at Quinn in a way that she's only ever looked at Quinn.

"San, you're not moving."

"I forgot something else."

"What?"

"This." She closes her eyes and leans up a bit to place her lips on Quinn's. It's over before it begins and Santana's already jogging down the sidewalk. But Quinn's still stuck in a moment, stuck in a moment when their lips touched in a kiss that expressed a mutual. Her hand makes its way to her lips and her eyes make their way to Santana, who's briefly waving at her from her own home, three doors down. Eyes locked, they share an amorous gaze across the distance, neither wanting to leave but both disappearing into their homes.

Today was emotionally draining in the best of ways, but still… Quinn is drained. All she wants to do now is sleep and dream of Santana. So once inside, she lazily discards her shoes at the door before walking upstairs and down the hallway to her room. She turns on the light and goes to the bathroom to prepare for bed, but something she sees from the corners of her eyes make her give a double-take. There is a puppy, on a doggy bed, on her floor. A goddamn puppy! The little, French bulldog just looks up at her with his oddly cute wall-eyes and stubby tail wagging and Quinn falls in love for a second time. She goes down to kneel beside the puppy, being careful not to knock over its food and water bowls that sat next to his bed.

"Hey, puppy, where'd you come from?" She pets it tenderly on the head before grabbing a note taped to the red bow tie around its neck that closely resembled the one in Quinn's own hair.

_Too bad we're too young to date,_  
><em>Together destined by fate.<em>  
><em>I love you,<em>  
><em>You love me, too.<em>  
><em>So here's a gift for the wait.<em>

_My mom helped me write that, but I picked this guy all by myself. Well… he kind of picked me, like you did. He's a lot like you, Quinn, you'll soon find out. -Love, San._

"Hey, buddy, do you like the name 'Arthur'?" He gives his new owner's hand an approving lick. "Ahh, good boy… So, Arthur, I hear you like Santana, too?"

The Green-Eyed Monster.

Quinn Fabray had been consumed by the green-eyed monster. But if you asked her if she cared, she would tell you that she didn't and that it's probably the best thing that has ever happened to her. That, of course, would be the truth... a very welcomed truth. What is the cause of her happiness, you may ask? Santana Lopez. You see, she's been obsessed with Santana since straight out of the womb and now, her love is finally being reciprocated. And so it seems that you could never find a love, quite as innocent and pure as a love in its youth. But then again, this is a story about Quinn and Santana, two souls destined to be together since the start… The thing about Quinn is she's not such a jealous person... just a hopelessly enamored one.

* * *

><p>So, that's the end. Thanks for all the story lovin' and I hope you leave me a comment about what you liked or didn't like and maybe some thoughts on what you'd like to see in the next mini!quinntana story (this time Santana centric). Look out for the story entitled, "The Monster's Love"! I have a general idea of how I'm going to do it but I'm not sure if I should introduce a central problematic characteristic (like jealousy) and main antagonist (like Blaine) or create a new storyline and dilemma for each chapter. Help? Also, I think I'm going to lay off the new sequel prequel thing for a while and start another story instead. I know I suck at updates, but I'm doing it anyways. So which story sounds better to you, humor/ angst-ish post fat quinntana or humor/ angst-ish couples' group counseling quinntana?... Oh, one last little thing, if you want to know what they were saying in Spanish and go to google translate, remember to take out that lower case "I" I put in front of most sentences as an upside down exclamation point.


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